Diagnostic errors more common than many think

May 30, 2013 (Press-News.org) Diagnostic errors more common than many think

Article provided by J Eric Harrison
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The leading cause of medical malpractice claims is not surgical errors, missteps by obstetricians or medication errors. Rather, according to a recent study, misdiagnoses by doctors are the leading cause of successful medical malpractice claims in the U.S. Though this may not be the first kind of error that people think of, the reality is that the effects of these errors can be life threatening. By some estimates, between 40,000 and 80,000 of these sorts of errors occur in the U.S. each year.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University studied data from the National Practitioner Data Bank, a federally maintained collection of information about medical malpractice claims in the U.S. The NPDB allowed researchers to examine approximately 25 years worth of information about medical malpractice settlements and verdicts.

They discovered diagnostic errors are not only the most common type of medical error, but also the most expensive and the most deadly. Overall, approximately 29 percent of all successful medical malpractice claims were due to incorrect, delayed or missed diagnoses. Diagnostic errors accounted for about 35 percent of all the money paid to victims of medical malpractice and their heirs. These sorts of errors caused about 39 percent of all medical malpractice related deaths. Even worse, data collected from autopsy results indicates that between 10 and 20 percent of deaths occur due to conditions that were incorrectly diagnosed or missed while the person was alive. Experts estimate that about 50 percent of those cases could have been treated successfully.

Although the Johns Hopkins study proves the importance of diagnostic errors as a cause of medical malpractice injuries and claims, it does not attempt to offer an explanation of why these sorts of errors are so common. Some experts suggest that the very complexity of making even a simple diagnosis is to blame: in any system with many steps and countless variables, a small mistake can have serious consequences. An additional problem is that many doctors consider diagnostic errors to be a personal failure. For many doctors, the ability to accurately diagnose a condition goes to the core of their professional identity. This makes admitting fault a deeply difficult thing to do.

Nevertheless, no matter the cause of the misdiagnosis problem, it is clear that action is needed. Hopefully, the efforts of researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere can help lead to a solution that not only prevents misdiagnoses, but helps patients get the medical treatment they need.