Misdiagnosis In Health Care
Misdiagnosis has always been a significant medical issue, however, it gets very little attention. The United States Institute of Medicine reports that 5% of adults seeking medical care every year will be misdiagnosed (Neergaard, 2015). That is a very large amount, considering the sheer number of adults that seek patient care every year, that’s not even including pediatric cases. So why is this issue getting very little attention? The reason is a majority of misdiagnosis goes undetected and causes no harm. Only those that cause death or dismemberment gets media attention and are handled through litigation. So why even focus on this issue? Simple, every single patient matter. I still believe that most of us are in this field because it’s a calling
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Institute of Medicine has noted several factors that play in misdiagnosis and they are as follows. Rushed visits, time constraints are always a factor in almost all lines of work especially so with health care. According to Rice (2015) time or resources are limited, all people, including physicians rely on mental shortcuts or heuristics, an abbreviated way of thinking. That can lead physicians to make quick assumptions and introduce cognitive bias. This not only increases the likelihood of missing disease warning signs, but leads to poorer quality decisions. Unclear communication with patients, communication is vital, it is easier to make a sound diagnosis with a complete history of a patient. Misread or misplaced x-rays, I have prior experience working in a Radiology Department and I can attest to the sheer volume of cases or they have to see. The Radiologist at a busy hospital reads hundreds of plates a day, eventually, mistakes are bound to happen. Most of these missed findings do not lead to any adverse outcome, however, if one does legal action is almost always a guarantee. Doctors’ unrecognized bias, each doctor has their own mental inclination that sways their decision when making a diagnosis. The issue lies here when doctors unknowingly oppose evidence in favor of their initial disposition. Lastly, is record keeping, this has always been an issue in every healthcare setting. It has evidently gotten better since the usage of electronic records, however mishaps still do happen. Omitted findings from records or missing records itself delays if not changes the
Institute of Medicine has noted several factors that play in misdiagnosis and they are as follows. Rushed visits, time constraints are always a factor in almost all lines of work especially so with health care. According to Rice (2015) time or resources are limited, all people, including physicians rely on mental shortcuts or heuristics, an abbreviated way of thinking. That can lead physicians to make quick assumptions and introduce cognitive bias. This not only increases the likelihood of missing disease warning signs, but leads to poorer quality decisions. Unclear communication with patients, communication is vital, it is easier to make a sound diagnosis with a complete history of a patient. Misread or misplaced x-rays, I have prior experience working in a Radiology Department and I can attest to the sheer volume of cases or they have to see. The Radiologist at a busy hospital reads hundreds of plates a day, eventually, mistakes are bound to happen. Most of these missed findings do not lead to any adverse outcome, however, if one does legal action is almost always a guarantee. Doctors’ unrecognized bias, each doctor has their own mental inclination that sways their decision when making a diagnosis. The issue lies here when doctors unknowingly oppose evidence in favor of their initial disposition. Lastly, is record keeping, this has always been an issue in every healthcare setting. It has evidently gotten better since the usage of electronic records, however mishaps still do happen. Omitted findings from records or missing records itself delays if not changes the