Misdiagnosis is more common than you think

Patient
April 26, 2013

An important study in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that misdiagnosis is more common than you might think.  According to the study, almost 40% of patients who unexpectedly returned after an initial primary care visit had been misdiagnosed.  Almost 80% of the misdiagnoses were tied to problems in doctor-patient communication, and more than half of those problems had to do with things that were missed in the …

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Misdiagnosis is more common than you think

5 ways to avoid a misdiagnosis

Physician
February 13, 2012

Billionaire Teddy Forstmann had been diagnosed with a serious form of brain cancer.  There’s a tragic twist to the story: according to Fox Business News, Forstmann believes that for more than a year, he had been misdiagnosed with meningitis.

ABC News wonders, “How could such a misfortune befall a billionaire —- a man able to afford the best doctors, best technology and the most sophisticated diagnostic tests?”

They’re missing the point.  …

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5 ways to avoid a misdiagnosis

The CSI effect and high tech medicine are driving up tests

Physician
September 4, 2011

I’m in Israel, home to some of the most innovative care in the world.  Doctors here wanted to know if the high-tech tests that are an increasing part of their work help.  A couple of weeks ago, they published their results.

It turns out that in about 90% of cases, it didn’t matter.

A physical exam, the patient’s history, and the basic set of tests that doctors have done for decades …

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The CSI effect and high tech medicine are driving up tests