Most Americans will receive an incorrect diagnosis in their lifetimes

Most Americans will receive an incorrect diagnosis in their lifetimes


We depend on physicians, nurse practitioners and other health care providers to get us on the track to recovery when we are ill or injured.

But these medical personnel are only human, just as we are. Mistakes are bound to happen. A new report from the Institute of Medicine concludes that most Americans will receive at least one incorrect medical diagnosis in their lives.

For some of us, an erroneous diagnosis is minor and no significant harm is done. For others, a misdiagnosis can be physically and financially costly. A missed chance to stop cancer before it spreads could turn deadly. Misdiagnosis leading to unnecessary and ultimately harmful medical treatments can foster distrust in the medical field. Overlooked signs of something amiss in a vulnerable infant may lead to lifelong disability.

There’s also the matter of malpractice lawsuits stemming from such cases, helping to increase the cost of treatment.

A post-report press release sent out by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine identifies several challenges surrounding diagnostic errors. One is a lack of data on diagnostic errors or of a dependable way to evaluate such errors overall. Other challenges include that there is little feedback for health care providers on erroneous diagnoses they make, and these misdiagnoses are often fragmented, relying on the expertise of multiple specialists.

What’s more, modern health care and legal systems do not always encourage health care providers to own their errors. Yet doing so could help foster growth and learning and possibly prevent future mistakes.

For patients and their families, speaking up when something seems amiss … even if you don’t know what … is key. Your input may provide the clue that doctors need for the right diagnosis.

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