When you feel unwell or have a medical concern and go to the doctors, you are confident they’ll be able to provide an answer or decipher your symptoms and figure out what’s wrong with you so they can prescribe an adequate treatment and help you get better. In the vast majority of cases, that’s exactly what happens.
For some, the process of being diagnosed might take longer and entail multiple physical exams, tests, investigations, and trips to the hospital until the medical provider can determine the nature of the disease or disorder. But sooner or later, every patient will get an answer to their problem.
Unfortunately, for a certain percentage of patients, that answer might not be correct, which means they’ll be misdiagnosed. Some people get diagnosed with an illness and later find out they suffer from a completely different condition. Others might be seriously ill and have doctors tell them they have nothing to worry about.
It’s difficult to give an exact figure on misdiagnosis cases, but recent reports reveal an increase in the number of claims involving diagnostic errors. Experts at Public Interest Lawyers also explain that misdiagnosis accounts for the largest percentage of medical negligence compensation claims, proving that these issues are quite common in medical practice.
This might come as a surprise to many, considering how much modern medicine has evolved in recent years. However, one also has to keep in mind that sometimes symptoms can be vague and confusing, and healthcare professionals, despite their best efforts and good intentions, are still humans and can make mistakes.
The risk of being misdiagnosed is a hard pill to swallow, but being aware of it can help you reduce the chance of error and the dangers associated with it. So, what can you do as a patient to help your medical provider make an accurate diagnosis and ensure you receive the right treatment?
What causes medical misdiagnosis?
A misdiagnosis occurs when medical investigations lead to an incorrect diagnosis, a missed diagnosis, or a delayed diagnosis. Even the best doctors can fail to interpret symptoms and identify the source of a medical issue correctly. To solve a problem or reduce its likelihood, one has to know why it happens in the first place, so the first step in addressing misdiagnosis risks is to learn about the most common causes.
Poor communication by healthcare professionals
With multiple medical professionals involved in the care of a patient, their ability to communicate and collaborate effectively plays a key role in making a successful clinical diagnosis. When these practitioners fail to communicate properly or don’t have the time to discuss and exchange information regarding a patient, the risk of misdiagnosis increases considerably.
Lack of experience
As with all other professions, experience is crucial in the medical field when it comes to diagnosing different conditions. A versed doctor who has seen and treated countless patients is more likely to spot crucial details and get to the root cause of an issue than a physician who’s just starting out. Inexperience can sometimes result in incompetence and lead to an inefficient diagnosis process.
Overconfidence
At the other end of the spectrum, we have doctors who overestimate their abilities and are so sure of their judgement that they don’t even take into account the possibility of errors. Because of this, they fail to see certain signs and dismiss other potential explanations from the get-go.
Insufficient time with patients
Most medical providers deal with overwhelming workloads which leaves them with very little time to spend with their patients. This means they might not be able to go in-depth when assessing a patients’ conditions and therefore make inaccurate assumptions and come to a wrong conclusion.
Improper testing
It’s also possible for medical tests to fail and provide medical professionals with false information. Inappropriate lab testing, whether it’s caused by errors when collecting, handling or processing samples, can put doctors on the wrong track and hamper the diagnosis process.
Lack of follow-up
When patients don’t follow up with appointments or switch from one medical provider to another, they create information gaps between them and practitioners. Discontinuation of care can hamper a doctor’s efforts to make a proper diagnosis.
Keep track of your symptoms
Every piece of information counts and can help doctors get one step closer to the truth, but it can be difficult to remember all the symptoms and signs you’ve noticed, especially if they stretch out for longer periods. To make sure you don’t leave out any important information, you should keep a journal with all the symptoms you’ve had, write down when and how they manifested, and take this journal with you at appointments.
Be honest and accurate
Purposely withholding information from your medical provider, either because you fear they might judge you or because you don’t think it’s important, is both irresponsible and dangerous. The details that you might be reluctant to share or that you consider irrelevant could make a huge difference in improving diagnosis accuracy.
Know your medical history
It’s a good idea to prepare in advance for your medical appointments. This implies gathering your medical records and doing a bit of research to learn about your family’s health history. You want to make sure your doctors are well aware of all the treatments and procedures you’ve had over the course of time so they get a full picture of your medical history.
Communicate
If you’re seeing multiple doctors from different specialties, it's imperative to let each specialist know about what tests and treatments you’ve had and what diagnoses you’ve received from the others. Usually, medical providers don’t communicate with each other, so it’s up to you to ensure the flow of information between different parties and have your medical team collaborate.
Seek a different opinion
Some medical diagnoses can be particularly elusive and pose challenges for medical providers. For your peace of mind and to ensure a faster and more precise diagnosis, you should get a second, third, fourth opinion, and so on – as many as you deem necessary to get to the bottom of the problem. If something feels off and you’re not satisfied with the diagnosis you’ve received or how you’ve been treated, don’t be afraid to speak up and continue your search until you’re heard and find the answers you’re looking for.
Ultimately, you must be your own health advocate. The way you approach your interactions with healthcare professionals is bound to influence the quality and outcome of care.
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Diagnoses that are missed altogether, wrong, or should have been made much earlier
Full medical glossary
