Medical error and misdiagnosis found to be the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind Heart Disease and Cancer. If medical error and misdiagnosis are third in one of the most medically developed countries, what is happening in the rest of the world?
Poor Reporting of Medical Error
Recent research published this month in BMJ uncovered startling facts about medical error and misdiagnosis statistics. If you follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics on leading causes of death in the U.S., you will find medical error and misdiagnosis not listed in the top ten. According to the CDC, the third leading cause of death is Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases with nearly 150,000 deaths annually. How is it possible …show more content…
This could have a big impact on population health and healthcare at multiple levels. How can you avoid becoming another medical error and misdiagnosis statistic?
Waiting for better death rate tracking to be implemented could leave you at risk. The good news is that you don’t need to rely on the statistics to obtain the medical diagnosis and treatment plan you deserve. Obtaining a second opinion is becoming more commonplace in medicine, especially if you have been diagnosed with a chronic illness. Even if you agree with your doctor’s diagnosis and treatment plan, a second opinion may give you more insight into your medical condition. More insight means better peace of mind.
An article published by TIME discussed a recent study in JAMA (2015), which highlighted the need for obtaining a second opinion. The research published in JAMA found that doctors diagnosing breast cancer agree with outside experts 75 percent of the time. Leaving 25 percent to misdiagnosis and medical error. This percentage is much higher when compared to the 9.5 percent cause of death estimated in this month’s BMJ article. The pathologists involved in the 2015 study also concluded that obtaining a second opinion is indeed
Poor Reporting of Medical Error
Recent research published this month in BMJ uncovered startling facts about medical error and misdiagnosis statistics. If you follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics on leading causes of death in the U.S., you will find medical error and misdiagnosis not listed in the top ten. According to the CDC, the third leading cause of death is Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases with nearly 150,000 deaths annually. How is it possible …show more content…
This could have a big impact on population health and healthcare at multiple levels. How can you avoid becoming another medical error and misdiagnosis statistic?
Waiting for better death rate tracking to be implemented could leave you at risk. The good news is that you don’t need to rely on the statistics to obtain the medical diagnosis and treatment plan you deserve. Obtaining a second opinion is becoming more commonplace in medicine, especially if you have been diagnosed with a chronic illness. Even if you agree with your doctor’s diagnosis and treatment plan, a second opinion may give you more insight into your medical condition. More insight means better peace of mind.
An article published by TIME discussed a recent study in JAMA (2015), which highlighted the need for obtaining a second opinion. The research published in JAMA found that doctors diagnosing breast cancer agree with outside experts 75 percent of the time. Leaving 25 percent to misdiagnosis and medical error. This percentage is much higher when compared to the 9.5 percent cause of death estimated in this month’s BMJ article. The pathologists involved in the 2015 study also concluded that obtaining a second opinion is indeed