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Overview

This interactive, case-based session explores how cognitive biases shape diagnostic and management decisions in primary care and contribute to errors, delays, and disparities. Drawing on real evidence from primary care literature, participants will examine common biases—including availability, anchoring, and overconfidence—and analyze how they appear in everyday patient encounters. Through clinical vignettes, attendees will learn to identify early warning signs of biased reasoning and understand when heuristics are most likely to cause harm. The session also reviews practical, evidence-supported strategies such as diagnostic timeouts, cognitive forcing tools, and team-based debiasing approaches. By the end, participants will be equipped with actionable techniques to strengthen clinical reasoning and improve patient outcomes.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the most common cognitive biases that impact primary care delivery -- particularly availability, anchoring, and overconfidence
  • Analyze case-based scenarios to determine how cognitive biases contribute to diagnostic error, delayed referrals, and health disparities
  • Apply evidence-based strategies - such as diagnostic timeouts, cognition forcing tools, and team-based debiasing – to improve clinical accuracy