Checklists are widely seen as a major achievement in modern safety. Naturally, they are used in many fields. We include checklists in airplane cockpits so pilots don't forget to lower the landing gear and prevent aircraft crashes. We have checklists in operating theatres so surgeons don't operate on the wrong limb or leave us behind. Someone. Yeah, exactly. So why wouldn't we want junior doctors to use checklists to ensure they remember to ask all the necessary questions? It's a very reasonable assumption, and honestly, that’s the very logic institutions follow when implementing these tools initially. It makes sense on paper.

However, the key distinction that Doctor Srivatsa's letter highlights is between a safety checklist used after a decision is made and a diagnostic checklist used to make the decision in the first place. That's a reall ...