Cognitive Bias Check in Diagnosis Chain

validated medical chain v1.0.0 cc-by-sa

Block ID: 7d7a1320-faae-4f98-b7fe-58824cc6d743

Community-contributed block. PromptDNA makes no guarantee of output quality or fitness for purpose. This block operates in a regulated domain. Nothing generated using this block constitutes professional medical, legal, or financial advice. User assumes all responsibility for use.

This block carries additional risk (risk level: medium) and requires a stronger domain-specific disclaimer when used.

Template

Audit the diagnostic reasoning in {working_diagnosis} for cognitive bias, as an educational metacognitive exercise since most diagnostic errors are reasoning failures, not knowledge gaps. (1) State the current working diagnosis and, honestly, how it was reached and how confident it feels — overconfidence is itself the first warning sign. (2) Check for anchoring: was the diagnosis fixed early on initial information and insufficiently revised as new data arrived? Ask what evidence has accumulated that doesn't fit. (3) Check for premature closure: was the differential narrowed before it was adequately broadened — the single most common diagnostic error — and what alternatives were dropped without being excluded? (4) Check for confirmation bias: has the workup been seeking data to confirm the favored diagnosis while discounting disconfirming findings? Actively look for what the leading diagnosis fails to explain. (5) Check availability and framing effects: is this diagnosis favored because it's recently seen, memorable, or the way the case was presented, rather than because it best fits? (6) Run the deliberate correction: force consideration of the "what else could this be?" and "what can't I afford to miss?" questions, and state what would change the diagnosis. Emphasize this is a reasoning-quality framework to support a clinician's self-check; it does not diagnose and does not replace a licensed professional's judgment.

Audit the diagnostic reasoning in {working_diagnosis} for cognitive bias, as an educational metacognitive exercise since most diagnostic errors are reasoning failures, not knowledge gaps. (1) State the current working diagnosis and, honestly, how it was reached and how confident it feels — overconfidence is itself the first warning sign. (2) Check for anchoring: was the diagnosis fixed early on initial information and insufficiently revised as new data arrived? Ask what evidence has accumulated that doesn't fit. (3) Check for premature closure: was the differential narrowed before it was adequately broadened — the single most common diagnostic error — and what alternatives were dropped without being excluded? (4) Check for confirmation bias: has the workup been seeking data to confirm the favored diagnosis while discounting disconfirming findings? Actively look for what the leading diagnosis fails to explain. (5) Check availability and framing effects: is this diagnosis favored because it's recently seen, memorable, or the way the case was presented, rather than because it best fits? (6) Run the deliberate correction: force consideration of the "what else could this be?" and "what can't I afford to miss?" questions, and state what would change the diagnosis. Emphasize this is a reasoning-quality framework to support a clinician's self-check; it does not diagnose and does not replace a licensed professional's judgment.

Variables

Name	Type	Required	Trust level
working_diagnosis		yes

diagnostic-errorcognitive-biasmetacognitionchain-of-thought

Ratings

0.0

Overall (0)

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Accuracy

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Consistency

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Clarity

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Efficiency

Benchmarks

Not yet self-validated against any benchmark. Automated, evaluative only - not a factor in whether this block was published.

Submitted by James P FounderMod via mcp · 2026-07-18