Reliable, Silent, Hysterical, or Assured: in Their Medical Decision Making

This article examines how physicians interpret nonmedical cues from patients' behavior in order to decide how to communicate, treat, and diagnose. Data were drawn from a larger study of physician decision making in which physicians were asked to tell a story about a recent difficult decision. Five categories of patient cues interpreted by physicians were examined: physical condition, feelings about their medical condition, personality, attitude about medical care, and social background. Interpretation of these patient cues is an important way physicians develop guidelines for making and rationalizing decisions about how to communicate and care for patients.