Uncertainty in Medicine

According to the Theory of Uncertainty in Illness, uncertainty is the incapability to recognize and determine the meaning of illness-related situations. This is generally because physicians and patients are unable to make decisions due to the lack of possibility to assign definite values to objects and events.

Under the spectrum of illnesses and diseases, uncertainty is often considered to be the absence of sufficient cues and, therefore, making the decision-maker itself, unable to accurately predict medical outcomes. It could be argued then that accuracy and precision, over ambiguity, is valued and desired in a medical setting. Uncertainty is feared and avoided when a decision needs to be made.

This behaviour is reflected in today's important social value placed over control and predictability. They restrict the variations in the paths that individuals may take into account, leading to more secure outcomes. These rosy conditions are exactly what a healthcare environment obsessively seeks.

It is expected by patients that every action in a medical environment will lead to desirable outcomes (e.g. a successful treatment, a successful diagnosis, a solid surgery, etc.). Yet, logically, desirable outcomes are not always present, especially in a domain like medicine where differences among patients define the principles of medicine itself.

Uncertainty in medicine is dangerous. The desired equilibrium is inevitably disrupted, leading the decision-maker and its process into a realm dominated by confusion, lack of knowledge, lack of expertise, and chaos. What this means, practically, is the possibility of severe psychological, financial and physical deteriorations. That's all.