Page 7 - Diagnosis_Reaver

preparation of an informal talk to the
Harvard Medical School class of 1912 which
has just had its 25th reunion. The point that
interested me was that in 1912 Dr. Richard
C. Cabot published a similar series of cases
based on a comparison of clinical and
anatomic diagnosis in 1,000 autopsies and I
thought it would be amusing to cmpare our
present record with that which Dr. Cabot
reported 25 years ago. The results were
rather interesting, and, I confess, sur­
prising. The percentage of correct
diagnoses were practically identical with
three or four per cent in favor of the 1912
series.’

‘ ‘ ‘The percentage of correct diagnoses in
1912 was 51, which means that now they are
diagnosing less than half of their cases with
every diagnositc aid at their hand! To me
this is a deplorable state of affairs.’ ”

‘ ‘Indeed, it is a deplorable state of affairs
since medical practice absolutely depends
upon a correct diagnosis. This survey vivid­
ly brings home the point that the dis­
appearance of plagues and improvement of
national health cannot be credited to
progress of medical practice, but to im­
provements of sanitary engineering which
provided for purification of water supply,
food inspection, and cam paigns of
cleanliness.”

Liberty Magazine published an article in
the issue of January 22,1938, entitled “ Ten
D octors, Nine Wrong Diagnoses.” It
related the experience of a headache suf­
ferer who consulted ten prominent