新奇事件簿 早上是看病的最佳时机（在线收听）

The quality of medical care you receive from doctors could depend on the time of the day you visit a hospital or clinic. A study from the University of Pennsylvania in the USA discovered a significant difference in the decision-making of physicians at different times of the day. The study concluded that a patient's chances of getting screened for cancer were a lot higher in the morning than they were in the late afternoon. Researchers investigated the numbers of women assigned to breast cancer screening throughout the day. They found that in the hour following 8am, doctors ordered screenings for 64 per cent of women who were eligible for tests. This figure dropped to 48 per cent at 5pm.

从医生那里获得医疗服务的质量或许取决于你去医院或诊所的时间。美国宾夕法尼亚大学的一项研究发现内科医生在一天不同时间中做出的诊断有明显差异。研究总结到，病人在早上接受癌症筛查的几率比在下午晚些时候高很多。研究人员调查了每天接受乳腺癌筛查的女性人数。他们发现在上午8点以后，医生们会让64%的有资格进行检测的女性接受筛查。在下午5点，这个数字下降至48%。

The researchers said the progressive reduction in assigned screenings as the day progressed could be due to "decision fatigue". This is a kind of mental burn-out that interrupts a person's ability to effectively make decisions the longer they work. Dr. Mitesh Patel said: "Our new study adds to the growing evidence that the time of the day and decision fatigue impacts patient care." Researcher Esther Hsiang agreed, saying: "We believe that the downward trend of ordering screenings may be the result of decision fatigue, where people may be less inclined to consider a new decision after they've been making them all day. It may also stem from overloaded clinicians getting behind as the day progresses."

研究人员表示随着时间的推移，指定筛选次数逐渐减少，这可能是由于“决策疲劳”。这是一种精神疲劳，工作时间越长，就会影响一个人做出有效决定的能力。Mitesh Patel博士表示：“我们的新研究进一步证明，时间和决策疲劳会影响对病人的护理。”研究员Esther Hsiang同意并表示：“我们认为接受筛查人数的下降趋势可能是决策疲劳的结果，在做了一整天的决定之后，人们可能不太愿意考虑新的决定。这也可能是由于超负荷的临床医生随着一天的工作而落后。”