The Glasgow Coma Scale is a standardized test that classifies a patient's motor, verbal and eye response on a graded scale.

CNN: Trapped 'coma' man: How was he misdiagnosed?

Instead, medicine should be standardized like other business processes, so each patient will receive the best known care for their particular condition, rather than be subject to the whims and caprices of the treating physician.

FORBES: Three Tensions In Medical Innovation To Watch For In 2013

Store-based health clinics must use standardized medical protocols derived from evidence-based practice guidelines to insure patient safety and quality of care.

FORBES: Move up http://i.forbesimg.com t Move down

And no drug company has yet perfected a standardized test to determine which particular genetic flaws lie behind an individual patient's cancer, a key prerequisite to targeted therapy.

FORBES: Conquering Cancer

Caroline Schnakers, who carried out the research with Laureys, told CNN that one probable reason for the high rate of misdiagnosis is that doctors often base their diagnosis on observations of a patient's behavior, rather than assessing patients using standardized tests.

CNN: Trapped 'coma' man: How was he misdiagnosed?