Psychiatric overshadowing is a recognized and clinically significant form of diagnostic bias in which healthcare providers attribute physical symptoms to a patient's pre-existing mental health condition rather than conducting thorough medical evaluation for new or coexisting somatic illness [1][2][3]. The phenomenon is extensively documented across medical settings including emergency departments and primary care, where symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, or neurological changes are frequently dismissed as psychosomatic in patients with psychiatric diagnoses [2][4].

This cognitive bias contributes to serious clinical consequences: individuals with serious mental illnesses experience higher rates of morbidity and mortality from preventable physical conditions, and diagnostic delays can result in inadequate or missed treatment of genuine medical emergencies [1][5][4]. The term originated in intellectual disability contexts but has expanded to encompass psychiatric and general medical settings [6][7]. Medical researchers and clinicians recognize this as a systemic issue requiring improved clinical training and integrated care models to ensure equitable diagnostic accuracy for all patients.