In a follow-up to its landmark report addressing the problem of medical errors and misdiagnosis, the Institute of Medicine recently released new findings that call for significant improvement in the quality of today’s healthcare. In fact, the overwhelming rates of medical misdiagnosis in the United States has led some to call the new report a “second wake-up call” for medical practitioners.
The Institute of Medicine first called attention to the detrimental effects of medical misdiagnosis in its unprecedented study entitled “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System,” which was released in 1999. The report discussed issues with the amount of available data and lack of valid and reliable measurement tools for quantifying the number of medical errors that occur in today’s hospitals and medical centers.
The problem of medical errors, and specifically medical misdiagnosis, remains an under-emphasized issue, according to researchers, who say that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error during the course of their lives. Although concrete numbers have been difficult to attain, recent research indicates that physicians make an average of 12 million outpatient diagnostic errors each year, which equates to approximately 1 in every 20 diagnoses.
The new report, entitled, “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care,” has been deemed a second wake-up call by Victor J. Dzau, the president of the National Academy of Medicine. Dzau went on to say:
“Diagnostic errors are a significant contributor to patient harm and have received too little attention until now… Errors in diagnosis … can persist throughout all segments of care and continue to harm, in my mind, an unacceptable number of patients.”
Obviously, certain instances of misdiagnosis spell more catastrophic consequences than others. For example, cancer misdiagnosis, including cancers of the prostate, breasts, and lungs, can quickly turn fatal. Similarly, misdiagnoses of heart attacks and strokes claim an overwhelming number of lives each year. Other diagnostic errors, such as those during child birth, can result in long-term suffering for children and their mothers.
Although it is encouraging that the medical community has acknowledged its failings in this area, the intention to improve does little to console victims of medical misdiagnosis and their families. In these cases, the law provides a mechanism through which to hold negligent physicians and healthcare professionals accountable, while allowing patients to obtain the financial resources that they so desperately need to recover and move forward.
If you or someone you love is facing a similar situation due to a health-related misdiagnosis or other form of medical malpractice, contact Fronzuto Law Group to learn more about the options that may be available to you. Consultations are always free of charge and we are pleased to answer all of your questions.
For additional information regarding the new report “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care,” view the Institute of Medicine’s “Report in Brief.”
