Just the word diagnosis can sound frightening and clinical. However, diagnoses
are nothing more than the names given to various physical and mental
disorders or diseases. A diagnosis is a generalization that describes what
the average person with that disorder or disease experiences, and what can
be expected in the future based on criteria that are periodically revised by
the medical community.
The value of a diagnosis is that it provides a shorthand way of communicating
important information about a medical condition, such as:
- The characteristic symptoms of the disorder
-The expected course (how it may vary over time)
-The prognosis of the disorder (the outlook for the future)
- Most important, options for treatment
