Well-known physician and editor, Dr. George Lundberg, recently partnered with endocrinologist Dr. Clifton Meador to ask why more studies are not conducted on the prevalence of false diagnoses, as opposed to missed diagnoses.
The literature on the accuracy of disease diagnoses brims with information on missed diagnoses. Autopsies often uncover diseases that were missed at the doctor's office. On the other hand, false diagnoses are less obvious, are much harder to study, and are generally ignored by statisticians and others.
The authors were aware only of one such study, which looked at heart disease among children. The study looked at 100,000 Seattle school children in 1967.
Just over 100 of this group reported a diagnosis of heart disease. (For the purpose of this blog, let's keep the figure at 100.) Of these, only 20 actually had heart disease. Physical and psychological disabilities were measured in 15 of this group and in 60 of the 80 who did not have heart disease. In other words, "[f]our times as much disability came from the false label 'heart disease' as came from actual heart disease." Drs. Lundberg and Meador concluded that the "false diagnoses were harmful."
The authors believe there is reason for an inertia to any false diagnosis, which arises from the fact that any diagnosis is very convincing, both to the patient and to the doctor. The disease cannot get any worse, since it does not exist, and it can only disappear at the next test, to which an alternative explanation -- remission -- is a ready distraction from the false diagnosis.
As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with the negative consequences of medical errors like this every day. If you have experienced related problems, I want you to pick up the phone and call me. I can help. If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
Gerry practices law exclusively in the State of New York. Within New York he practices primarily in the following counties: New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk. Technically, Brooklyn is known as "Kings County," and Manhattan and New York City are known as "New York County." Staten Island is known as "Richmond County." These counties make up the New York metropolitan area.
There are no comments.
Post a comment
Post a Comment to "Medical Malpractice: Studying False Diagnoses"
To reply to this message, enter your reply in the box labeled "Message", hit "Post Message."
