Thanks Graham for pointing out this NY Times article. Academic physicians suggest this tact to better communicate with patients:
Doctors should use plain language, not medical jargon, vague terms and words that may have different meanings to a lay person. They should say . . . “You don’t have HIV” instead of “Your HIV test was negative.”
Two completely different things. Saying the first can land you in court. There is no diagnostic test that is 100% sensitive. By saying that “you don’t have xxx disease,” you are falsely conveying an absolute certainly, when in fact, that’s impossible. Better to say, “You unlikely have HIV,” or better yet, the truth: “Your HIV test was negative”.
Drs. Kripalani and Weiss should know better.
