I teach doctors how to interpret test results – and the labels ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ often hide what matters most

By Amiran Baduashvili, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz, The Conversation · October 12, 2026

Labeling medical test results as ‘normal’ or ‘abnormal’ helps clinicians make quick judgments when diagnosing patients. But this binary approach to interpreting tests can lead to fatal errors.

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