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.
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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.
Which Medical Conditions are Most Commonly Misdiagnosed?
A diagnostic error can sometimes make the difference between life and death. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are permanently disabled or die every year due to misdiagnosis errors made by medical professionals, as reported by John Hopkins Medicine. Researchers have identified the following three major disease categories, which account for almost 75% of serious harm from diagnostic errors, as well as the top condition in each category:
- Cancers (37.8%): Lung cancer
- Vascular events (22.8%): Stroke
- Infections (13.5%): Sepsis
The following specific conditions account for almost half of all severe harm from misdiagnosis:
- Breast, prostate, colorectal, and skin cancers;
- Heart attack, blood clots in the legs and lungs, rupture of the aorta, arterial thromboembolism (blockage of blood supply to internal organs), and
- Pneumonia, meningitis, encephalitis, spinal infection, and endocarditis (heart infection).
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.
What Should You Do If You Suspect Misdiagnosis?
If you suspect misdiagnosis by a healthcare provider, the first step is to get a second opinion. Next, obtain your medical records and have them reviewed carefully to identify potential errors. Document the details of your symptoms, your communication with medical providers, and the treatments you have received. Then, contact an experienced medical misdiagnosis lawyer in Little Rock to evaluate your case. Our team of trial lawyers at McMath Woods has the experience and drive to help you prevail in a compensation claim. Contact us today to find out how we can help.