Why do family physicians use diagnoses?
Family physicians divide illnesses into diagnoses. We also organise diagnoses that share common features into groups of diagnoses.
Diagnosis is a tool used to find out:
- Whether you are ill or not
- What you are suffering from - are you depressed?
- Which type of depression you have
- What else is wrong - physical illness, anxiety, psychosis?
- How they think the illness will progress - should it be treated, should you be admitted into care?
- Which treatment is best - medication, psychotherapy?
- Which complications can arise - side effects, abuse?
- How to prevent future illness - do you need to take your medication for a long period to prevent relapse
Diagnoses are also needed for research. Using diagnoses, doctors can compare one group of patients that has a firm diagnosis with another group of patients. By monitoring patients with the same diagnosis, they develop new knowledge about:
- The course of the illness
- Complications
- Which treatment works best
- How the illness can be prevented