Diagnoses are made from careful history and examination

EDITOR—I welcome the improved use of resources already available to us, but I must point out some facts to Weed and Weed.1 When we are medical students we are taught that more than 80% of diagnoses can be made on the basis of a careful history and physical examination. We are therefore taught to focus on individual symptoms and signs from which a differential diagnosis is formed and appropriate investigations are requested. I was certainly not taught to “focus on general knowledge about large populations.” Doctors in the United Kingdom undertake a period of general professional training and have to complete a difficult and highly competitive examination, before specialisation. The Weeds' case was from the United States, and many specialists were involved in the patient's care, which …