Medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease and cancer.
A recent Johns Hopkins study claims more than 250,000 people in the U.S. die every year from medical errors.
Other reports claim the numbers to be as high as 440,000.
Recently a woman wrote to me telling about the awful diagnostic disaster that she had been through.
In her words: “It took 3 years, 3 primary doctors, and 7 neurologists to diagnose me.
I told everyone that ‘it feels like my brain is shaking in my head.”
If they had listened to me the first time and had done a simple EEG, it would’ve saved us and the insurance company a lot of money!”
There are many ways that your medical care can go wrong. All of the phases from diagnosis to treatment can have some type of error.
Studies of error types: An Institute of Medical Report attempted to quantify the types of medical errors that occur in healthcare settings.
One cited study lists causes of errors as follows:
Is your doctor making you feel crazy? Like it’s all in your head? Could you be a hypochondriac?
You must be imagining your symptoms. Or maybe you’re just in a panic.
“Go home and take two Advil. Or maybe two Xanax. You’ll feel fine when this blows over. I assure you.”
Recently a woman wrote to me telling about the awful diagnostic disaster that she had been through.
In her words: “It took 3 years, 3 primary doctors, and 7 neurologists to diagnose me.
I told everyone that ‘it feels like my brain is shaking in my head.’
If they had listened to me the first time and had done a simple EEG, it would’ve saved us and the insurance company a lot of money!
I was misdiagnosed with MS after 4 MRIs. We had 3 trips to the ER. A lot of blood work. And on and on…”