Stalking the Diagnosis = approaching the diagnosis?

To stalk is a hunting term, and it means to follow the animal (or in more cruel terms, a man or woman) which you wish to kill. Stalking is following the animal until one has a good opportunity to attempt to kill them.

Here it is being used figuratively, and it means to search for the diagnosis. This is a poor use of the verb to stalk.

It is from an important article from http://content.nejm.org/. Click the link (the page is for China's users, you might see a different page when access from USA) to check it out. Because it is from NEJM, so I supposed it was a good use of English.

Thanks.

I see where you were going, though. Stalk, to me, seems evocative of following clues assiduously...like a hunter / scientist, who will never give up until her has bagged his prey / diagnosis... But, in common "American vernacular," yeah...the oddity of the usage would perplex readers.