Diagnostic team decision making

© UKN

Effective teamwork is essential for medical diagnosis, as it directly impacts decision accuracy, collaboration quality, and patient outcomes. Our research examines the factors that shape diagnostic team performance, focusing on when and why collaboration enhances decision-making. Through field studies, experimental designs, and surveys, we explore how elements such as case complexity, workload, professional hierarchies, and interprofessional stereotypes influence teamwork. Our findings show that collaboration often improves diagnostic accuracy by enabling team members to cross-check information, although the benefits vary depending on the stage of the diagnostic process and the expertise of the team members involved. By understanding these dynamics, we aim to develop strategies for optimizing teamwork in healthcare, improving training approaches, and enhancing diagnostic quality.

In an ongoing study the ethnographic research team at our lab explores this question through in-depth observations and interviews in Swiss emergency departments.
Learn more about the team and the current project.

Scientific Writings

  • Hautz, W. E., Hautz, S. C., & Kämmer, J. E. (2020). Whether two heads are better than one is the wrong question (though sometimes they are). Advances in Health Sciences Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-020-09956-z

  • Hautz, W. E., Kämmer, J. E., Schauber, S. K., Spies, C. D., & Gaissmaier, W. (2015). Diagnostic performance by medical students working individually or in teams. JAMA, 313, 303–304. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2014.15770

  • Kämmer, J. E., Ehrhard, S., Kunina-Habenicht, O., Weber-Schuh, S., Hautz, S. C., Birrenbach, T., Sauter, T. C., & Hautz, W. E. (2023). What factors affect team members’ evaluation of collaboration in medical teams? Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1031902. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1031902

  • Kämmer, J. E., Ernst, K., Grab, K., Schauber, S. K., Hautz, S. C., Penders, D., & Hautz, W. E. (2024). Collaboration during the diagnostic decision-making process: When does it help? Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 37, e2357. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.2357

  • Kämmer, J. E., & Ewers, M. (2022). Stereotypes of experienced health professionals in an interprofessional context: Results from a cross-sectional survey in Germany. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 36(3), 350–361. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2021.1903405