It’s crucial to have a clear understanding of your healthcare providers. If they use medical jargon that seems unfamiliar, don’t hesitate to speak up and request that they explain things in plain language. A recent study highlights the significant impact of misdiagnoses, particularly in cases involving cancer, infections, and vascular issues.
According to this groundbreaking study, medical misdiagnosis leads to the death or permanent disability of nearly 800,000 Americans each year. This research is the first comprehensive attempt to quantify the devastating consequences of these diagnostic errors.
To conduct the study, researchers meticulously reviewed records from various medical settings, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, and doctors’ offices. The findings reveal that annually, an estimated 371,000 individuals lose their lives, while another 424,000 patients face permanent disability due to incorrect diagnoses. These results were published in BMJ Quality and Safety.
Among the various medical conditions, five specific ones stand out as the primary culprits behind a significant portion of cases resulting in death or permanent disability:
- Stroke
- Sepsis
- Pneumonia
- Lung cancer
- Pulmonary thromboembolism, a life-threatening condition involving blood clots in the lungs
“We were not surprised by the large number of serious harms from diagnostic error, but we were surprised to find that half of them are attributable to just 15 diseases and nearly 40 percent are attributable to just five,” said David Newman-Toker, MD, PhD, the lead author of the study and the director of the Center for Diagnostic Excellence at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.
Previous Estimates of Medical Misdiagnosis Could Have Been Inefficient
Prior to this study, much of the research on medical errors and diagnostic mistakes had primarily concentrated on specific healthcare settings such as outpatient clinics, intensive care units, or emergency rooms. Consequently, previous investigations have generated highly divergent and frequently unreliable assessments of the actual human impact of diagnostic errors. Earlier estimates have ranged widely, suggesting that the annual number of individuals harmed by these errors could be anywhere from 40,000 to four million, as indicated in the study.
“The current study provides the best available estimate of the magnitude of serious diagnostic errors,” said Anupam Jena, MD, PhD. He is a professor at Harvard Medical School and author of Random Acts of Medicine.
“What is poorly understood, however, is how much quality or life or length of life could be reclaimed by reducing these diagnostic errors,” Dr. Jena added, He also wasn’t part of the new study. “Although all diagnostic errors are concerning, diagnostic errors for which correctly applied medical treatment could have reversed the outcome are what we care most about.”
Simple and Subtle Symptoms Can Make Accurate Diagnosis Difficult
Although the study wasn’t specifically aimed at investigating the causes of diagnostic errors or strategies for prevention, Dr. Newman-Toker suggested that incorrect diagnoses often occur due to atypical symptoms displayed by patients.
“The biggest risk factor for diagnostic error is having ‘non-classic’ or otherwise subtle clinical symptoms of a dangerous underlying disease,” Newman-Toker also said. “We don’t miss strokes when people have paralysis on one side of the body and inability to speak — we miss them when they manifest with isolated dizziness, vertigo, or headaches that look like more common but non-life-threatening diseases.”
A significant factor contributing to errors in medical diagnoses is the breakdown in communication between patients and doctors, as well as among healthcare professionals, emphasizes Dr. Alisa Khan, an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and a pediatric hospitalist at Boston Children’s Hospital, unaffiliated with the recent study.
Patients play a crucial role in this communication process. They should openly express their primary concerns and share any new symptoms they have observed. Moreover, patients are encouraged to assertively request doctors to communicate in simple, easy-to-understand language, free from medical jargon. Additionally, it’s vital for patients to demand the presence of translators during conversations if they require information in a language other than English.
In essence, fostering clear and transparent communication between patients and healthcare providers, while ensuring linguistic accessibility through translators, can significantly enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of medical diagnoses. This proactive approach empowers patients to advocate for their health and enables doctors to comprehend their patients’ concerns more comprehensively.
“To help prevent diagnostic errors, doctors can do a better job of effectively communicating with and listening to patients and families,” Khan advised. “In many cases, patients and families are the first to notice that something is wrong.”
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