Diagnosis
Doctors can identify what’s making you sick by conducting exams, asking questions and ordering tests such as blood work or X-rays. Once all the necessary information has been gathered, they’ll issue a diagnosis; this serves as the medical or psychiatric label that defines an individual’s condition and often dictates which treatments options are available as well as any coverage level provided as well as research programs or studies they may participate in.
Diagnosing an illness is also crucial because it informs health insurance providers about the need for treatment, and can qualify an individual for disability support or protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Unfortunately, diagnoses can sometimes be used inappropriately by non-medical practitioners who are unqualified to make them, for political and financial gain or other non-medical purposes – as Julian Reiss and Rachel Ankeny’s philosophical treatise shows. Diagnostic terminology ambiguous enough that it can include both “identifying the nature of an illness/disorder/condition/illness/condition/diagnosis,” and “categorized labels.”
