A healthcare provider who incorrectly diagnoses a patient’s condition can lead to severe health consequences. Misdiagnosis can lead to inappropriate treatment, delay in correct treatment, and worsening health conditions.
Misdiagnosis Attorney in Arkansas
Understanding the Impact of Medical Errors and Misdiagnoses
Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., as reported by John Hopkins. Misdiagnosis (or delayed diagnosis) gives rise to 32% of medical malpractice claims, as reported in a recent article on Forbes Advisor.
How Does Misdiagnosis Commonly Occur?
Medical misdiagnosis can occur in any of the following ways:
Wrong Diagnosis
Patients are diagnosed with and treated for a condition they do not have, also known as a false positive. The wrong diagnosis causes the patient to undergo unnecessary treatments, leaving the existing condition untreated.
Missed Diagnosis
Despite patient symptoms, medical professionals fail to identify a specific condition or illness. A missed diagnosis, or a false negative, means the patient does not receive the necessary treatment for an existing medical condition.
Delayed Diagnosis
A medical condition is diagnosed much later than it should have been due to medical error. This error can lead to the progression of the disease and a worsened outcome for the patient.
What Factors Contribute to Medical Misdiagnosis?
Based on claims data analyzed by Johns Hopkins researchers, failure of clinical judgment was the cause of more than 85% of misdiagnosed cases. Most diagnostic errors that gave rise to medical malpractice claims occurred in emergency rooms or outpatient clinics. As stated by the Committee on Diagnostic Error in Health Care, diagnostic errors can be classified into the following three categories:
No-Fault Errors
This type of medical error stems from factors outside healthcare providers’ control, such as the patient’s misleading information or a disease that presents with atypical symptoms.
System-Related Errors
This category includes technical and organizational issues, such as equipment failure, technical problems, inefficient processes, communication problems, and lack of care coordination.
Cognitive Errors
Most misdiagnosis cases result from cognitive mistakes doctors and other clinicians make. Contributing factors to these errors may include inadequate knowledge, lack of competency, fatigue, poor critical thinking skills, and lack of the necessary skills for data gathering and synthesis of information.
