According to a release from the Johns Hopkins Medicine Newsroom, research conducted jointly by the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute Center for Diagnostic Excellence and the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions found that approximately “795,000 Americans die or are permanently disabled by diagnostic error each year.” These errors occur across varied care settings, from hospitals to clinics. Prior to this report, which was…

Diagnosis is the process by which physicians determine the underlying cause of a patient’s physical signs and symptoms. Proper diagnosis leads to proper treatment. Without a formal diagnosis, patients generally cannot be prescribed appropriate medication, permitted to schedule a surgical intervention, or otherwise undergo treatments designed to help cure or manage their medical problems. When a physician arrives at a correct diagnosis promptly, patients can…

Relief. We could finally breath, sleep, and eat. After about 1 month of tests, doctor visits, blood draws, x-rays, surgery, and a lot of waiting, we received the call that we had been waiting for. “It is negative. Go about your life. You have a healthy 19-year-old,” said the pediatric ear nose and throat surgeon. Anyone who has had to wait for pathology lab results…

You have probably seen the coffee mug floating around the Internet that reads: “Please Do Not Confuse Your Google Search with my Medical Degree.” Although many individuals may chuckle and not give the mug another thought, others find it quite bothersome. Many doctors, unfortunately, carry this attitude with them to medical facilities every day. The second a patient says, “Well, I read online that…,” the…

Reducing diagnostic errors is critical to patient care A September 2015 report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), commissioned by the U.S. government, reveals the importance of accurate and timely diagnosis. IOM’s “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care” report spotlighted an issue that medical malpractice attorneys and many victims of malpractice have been painfully aware of for several years – diagnostic errors are responsible for an…