Misdiagnosis is a surprisingly prevalent phenomenon, which often results in compensation claims. Statistics estimating the extent of the problem differ, but about 1% of cancer biopsies and over 30% of accident and emergency cases in busy hospitals may involve misdiagnosis. Studies have indicated that overall, as many as 15% of patients suffer from initial misdiagnosis. Of course, to ensure adequate medical care, it is vital for a patient to have an accurate diagnosis. In cases of life or death, a patient should have back up mechanisms; they should see a specialist, have a second opinion or further laboratory testing.
Misdiagnosis can occur when the conditions are potentially very serious: myocardial infarction, breast cancer, appendicitis, lung cancer, colon cancer and sub arachnoid haemorrhage, for example. Compensation claims tend to focus on misdiagnosis itself, and subsequent delayed treatment. So what causes such incidents? In busy hospitals, members of staff that are pressed for time may make mistakes and specialists may be unavailable. Cancer misdiagnosis tends to occur when biopsy samples are inaccurately read. Human error is inevitably a factor where diagnosis is based on laboratory staff identifying potentially cancerous abnormalities on pathology slides.
The causes of misdiagnosis are wide, and clinical mistakes can involve general practitioners, specialists, laboratory technicians who test samples and even patients themselves. Patients may encourage the problem of misdiagnosis if they fail to disclose their full symptoms, thus inadvertently misleading health care staff; at its most blatant, patient-caused misdiagnosis will result from their failure to attend appointments for diagnostic tests. Doctors may make mistakes due to a lack of specialist knowledge, while even specialists themselves may neglect the signs that an illness is potentially rare and uncommon and attribute symptoms to illnesses with which they have more familiarity.
Misdiagnosis differs in its nature, but all types may give rise to a medical malpractice compensation claim. Misdiagnosis may represent obvious incorrect diagnosis of a disease, partial or delayed diagnosis and inadequate identification of the subtype of a specific disease. It may involve insufficient recognition of the complications associated with a disease or of underlying contributory factors or illnesses or medication that might be provoking a disease’s occurrence.
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