Factitious disorder

A mental disorder in which a person falsifies, exaggerates, or induces illness to occupy the patient role, without an obvious external reward.

Factitious disorder imposed on self: Factitious disorder in which a person falsifies or induces illness in themselves. This is the form in which the person assumes the patient role directly.
Psychiatric diagnosis: The process of identifying a mental disorder from symptoms, history, and clinical criteria. Factitious disorder is diagnosed from a pattern of behavior, not from one test result.
Differential diagnosis: The process of distinguishing among conditions that can produce similar signs or symptoms. Clinicians compare factitious behavior with genuine illness, other disorders, and externally motivated deception.
Iatrogenic injury: Harm caused unintentionally by medical examination, treatment, or other health care. Repeated investigation or treatment of fabricated symptoms can produce avoidable physical harm.
Factitious disorder imposed on another: Factitious disorder in which a person falsifies or induces illness in someone under their care. The patient role is imposed on another person, often a dependent, rather than oneself.
Deception: The intentional creation of a false belief in another person. Falsifying or inducing illness is central to the disorder's diagnostic pattern.
Medical record review: The systematic examination of a patient's documented clinical history and prior care. Inconsistencies across records can help identify a pattern without relying on a single encounter.
Unnecessary medical procedures: Medical interventions performed without sufficient clinical benefit or indication. Induced or falsified illness can lead to procedures that carry real risks.
Malingering: The intentional production or exaggeration of symptoms for an identifiable external incentive. External gain distinguishes malingering from the defining motivation of factitious disorder.
Patient role: The social position associated with being ill and receiving care from health professionals. Assuming this role is the defining aim described in the concept's gloss.

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