We explain what diagnosis means and in which areas this term is used. Medical, social, business, differential diagnosis and more.
Medical diagnosis is the most common and best-known use of the term.What is a diagnosis?
Diagnosis is an orderly, systematic procedure, to know, to clearly establish a circumstance, from observations Y data concrete. The diagnosis always involves an evaluation, with assessment of actions in relation to objectives. The term includes in its root the Greek word ‘gnosis', What does it mean knowledge.
Andrade de Souza's definition of diagnosis: «A method of knowledge Y analysis of the performance of a business or institutioninternally and externally, so that you can facilitate decision making«.
Carrying out an adequate diagnosis requires certain factors from the person who is going to carry it out. abilities or competencies, among which we can cite theoretical knowledge on the subject, logical reasoning, concentration, experience and a great ability to observe objectively, and to relate different data.
Medical diagnosis is the most common and best-known use of the term, in which when faced with a person showing certain symptoms (for example, fever, cough, sneezing, chills), the doctor must determine what may be causing these symptoms. That is, you must diagnose (that is, identify) the disease based on current symptoms, medical history and, in some cases, complementary tests (x-rays, analysis blood, etc.).
From this basic use, the use of the term has been extrapolated to other areas, although in all cases the central idea of "systematic procedure that allows identifying a problem" is maintained. For example, it may be necessary to make a diagnosis of why a company is not doing well, why there are school dropouts in a certain place, why few students graduate from a given university, why people change their medical prepaid , etc.
Other types of diagnosis
Other specific cases of diagnosis will be mentioned below:
- Psychodiagnosis. It refers to the process carried out by psychologists and educational psychologists, generally within the framework of educational institutions, to detect problems psychological that can affect the normal learning of the kids.
- Differential diagnosis. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for professionals Doctors is to distinguish diseases that present with a very similar clinical and / or laboratory picture; in those cases, physicians must make a differential diagnosis, sometimes supported by a rule-out procedure.
- Social diagnosis. Sometimes the services of a social worker to assess a person's family situation; in that case, it is common for the social worker to visit your home, see what comforts you have and what you lack, so as to get an idea of your most immediate needs (for example, an allowance).
- Imaging diagnosis. It includes all those medical tools that manage to obtain images of the body and through the analysis of these images the diagnosis of diseases or injuries is facilitated. It ranges from X-rays to CT scans, ultrasounds, MRIs, etc.