A Modern Healthcare article reported on a studies which defined misdiagnoses as “missed opportunities to make a timely or correct diagnosis based on the available evidence.”
“One of the studies used in the analysis, published in March 2013 in JAMA Internal Medicine, identified nearly 70 different conditions for which misdiagnoses occurred in the primary-care setting, like pneumonia, renal failure and urinary tract infections. The other two focused specifically on cancer, including a retrospective study published in BMJ that used electronic health-record data to detect potential delays in prostate and colon cancer diagnoses; and a 2010 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, which evaluated whether EHRs could be good predictors of misdiagnoses in lung cancer.”
“The reasons for the high numbers of ‘missed opportunities’ are multifaceted, experts who spoke with Modern Healthcare explained. They cited concerns around various items within the healthcare setting, like the structure of outpatient systems, cognitive biases and unclear clinical guidelines. It will take more than one approach to make improvements.”
“Physicians often have eight to 10 minutes to make clinical decisions, he says, and are therefore forced to make decisions without complete information or with incompletely digested information. For example, colon cancer can easily be missed initially, he said, because patients often show up with symptoms like a stomach ache or diarrhea, which can be associated with other conditions.”
Click here to read the full Modern Healthcare “Misdiagnosis could affect 12M U.S. adults annually, study finds” by Sabrya Rice.
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Doctor, Did You Wash Your Hands? ™ provides information to consumers on understanding, managing and navigating health care options.
Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H., is Clinical Professor, Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Adjunct Professor, Baruch College ( C.U.N.Y.), Rutgers School of Public Health, and Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration.
This blog shares general information about understanding and navigating the health care system. For specific medical advice about your own problems, issues and options talk to your personal physician.