Physicians' expert cognition and the problem of cognitive biases.

This article reviews the ways in which physicians reason in order to account for medical mismanagement due to cognitive errors. Whether physicians make decisions intuitively or analytically, they may err due to the approximations of human reasoning. Vigilance, education, and programs at the level of the medical system are suggested as measures to make decisions consistent with the logic of decision analysis so that the effects of cognitive errors are minimized.