Professional team opinion and personal bias--a study of a chronic hemodialysis unit team.

Abstract Searching for sources of the discrepancies in the psychiatric reports on patients on chronic hemodialysis, one team was studied by questionnaires describing various aspects of dialysis. A very high agreement between the team members and a very definite and differentiative team opinion were found when the team was comparing the patients' conditions. On the other hand, when amount of absolute suffering was considered, it was found that team members disagree a lot. Furthermore, a strong personal bias was found with some team members describing all patients as suffering much from all aspects of dialysis, while other team members describe all patients as suffering little from all aspects of dialysis. Suggestions were put forward that team opinion reflects team spirit and the personal bias related to personality. Another suggestion, put forward hesitantly, is that the discrepancies in the psychiatric reports are the result of the personal bias of the psychiatrists.