The RICE general consultation asks questions of the patient, while Mota's Five Questions are mostly questions the doctor asks themselves. Using these two thinking modes together works better. First, gather the patient's basic information, then the doctor uses Mota's Five Questions to ask themselves, considering what might have been overlooked, and then asks follow-up questions. Through this back-and-forth, information the patient wasn't aware of and the doctor hadn't thought of can surface, helping the doctor propose more effective treatment plans.
Identify all possible causes - What main factors are related to this product not selling well?
Identify the important causes among them - Which of these factors matters most to consumers? Are these really the most critical ones?
Check for causes not considered - Are there any causes I haven't thought of?
Investigate other related causes - Are there any unwritten rules I don't know about?
Search for additional unmentioned causes - Are there any problems consumers haven't voiced?
General practice and specialty medicine are two different medical fields. In contrast to the specialty medicine we are familiar with, such as ophthalmology or orthopedics, most doctors we see at large hospitals are specialists, while general practitioners mainly serve communities and families—some work in community medical institutions, and some are known as personal physicians. Specialists focus on the disease itself, while general practitioners focus on the person who is sick. For example, there's Dr. Liu at the clinic downstairs from your home, who has treated patients his whole life. He can handle minor ailments, saving you a trip to the hospital and money, and he can also spot serious illnesses, letting you know which hospital department to visit. He is kind and patient, and the neighbors all like him, but I never knew what his specialty was. Today I found out. General practitioners generally bear the responsibility for early diagnosis of major diseases, preventing minor ailments from becoming serious ones. They must face all kinds of patients, a wide variety of symptoms, and various psychological issues, and they need to make correct diagnoses as early as possible while soothing patients' emotions—the complexity of what they face is easy to imagine. Therefore, having a diagnostic and treatment thinking methodology that is comprehensive and avoids omissions is very important, because forgetting or overlooking something that should have been considered early on, or that the patient should have been asked about, is often a cause of deep regret. This is why the RICE consultation and the Motta consultation emphasize putting people first, and it is also where their value lies. Applying their thinking elsewhere may not cure every disease, but it should at least ensure attentive care and rigorous reasoning.