Downside of Action Bias in Healthcare

This book excerpt is from a chapter titled "The Default Action Playbook" of my award winning book "IN/ACTION: Rethinking the Path to Results ", available to buy online where you buy books. You can read more about me?here ?and more about the book?here .

Our tendency to follow the norm and do what’s expected is an indirect cause of our action bias and isn’t limited to awkward office situations. In a research study of physicians, published in the Journal of Family Practice, a group of doctors were presented with hypothetical cases listing patient symptoms that they could not easily diagnose. They were asked to make their recommendations based on the symptoms that had been described. A large majority of the physicians recommended tests and procedures, which we can call “action.” A very small minority chose a wait-and-watch approach, which is equivalent to inaction, not doing anything. In real life from where these cases were derived, the patients’ symptoms had gone away with time and without any medical intervention.

You see, when a patient comes to a doctor with a problem, there is an expectation that the doctor will 'do something about it'. It is the norm for the physician to take action. That expectation creates a compulsion for the doctor to, well, do something, anything, even prescribe additional tests, whether they are needed or not. It gives everyone a sense of comfort that they did something about it, even if it created wasted effort, not to mention the expense of unnecessary tests.?

If you enjoyed this excerpt, share it with your network! I love hearing from my readers, please drop a line if any of this resonates with you. You can also buy the book at?Amazon ,?Barnes and Noble ?or wherever you buy books online.