"This book follows the basic process that physicians are taught to use when encountering a patient. A well-trained and experienced physician begins by trying to make sense out of what has brought the patient to seek care, a process that begins by getting the patient to speak about why they have come to the physician seeking treatment (the chief complaint), gathering information both as a history in the patient’s own words as well as results from a physical examination and laboratory tests. This information is then compared to the many models of disease which the physician holds in their head (and sometimes in books or computers), and a hypothesis is developed that seeks to answer the question, “What are the causes of this particular patients’ complaints and symptoms?” The resulting diagnostic hypothesis may be challenged and supported by performing additional examination or tests. A treatment plan is then developed based on the working model (hypothesis) for what is causing the patient to have a complaint or what appears to be a particular disease. The treatment plan is implemented, and after a period of time the physician and patient come back together to see if the treatment has been effective or if the hypothesis needs to be modified or rejected."
