When Clinical Language Causes Harm: A Case Study in Endometriosis Risk
Clinical language is often treated as neutral. In practice, it shapes diagnostic pathways, escalation decisions, and how seriously patient-reported symptoms are taken. When language is inaccurate or biased, it can unintentionally embed risk into care delivery — particularly for conditions that disproportionately affect women. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I identified several examples of clinical language…
