Once upon a midnight dreary, the doctor-patient relationship was, well, a relationship. In most cases, doctors and patients had known each other for years. In many cases, doctors cared for multiple members of the same family.
But those days are gone now. Today,the doctor-patient “relationship” is all about the numbers. Specifically, there are only two numbers that matter when it comes to misdiagnosis medical malpractice issues.
First Number
The first number is eleven. Average doctors listen to their patients for eleven seconds before interrupting or redirecting them. In many situations, “listening” is not really the right word. Instead, doctors wait somewhat impatiently for a chance to jump in. It’s impossible for anyone to learn anything meaningful about a patient’s symptoms in eleven seconds. This lack of information is often critical.
The second
The second number is fifteen.Today, the standard doctor’s appointment only lasts fifteen minutes. To make as much money as possible, hospitals, practice groups, and clinics cram as many appointments as possible into the doctor’s day. There is no more time to consult with colleagues about diagnosis problems or do additional research.Instead, doctors go with their “gut feelings” and move forward.
Sometimes, the seat-of-your-pants approach works well. But when it comes to the conditions discussed below, a lack of information can cause serious injuries. So, substantial compensation may be available. This compensation normally includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Moreover, many Cobb County medical negligence claims include substantial punitive damages. These additional damages punish the tortfeasor (negligent actor) and deter future misconduct.
Cancer
Most doctors consider cancer to be a lifestyle or family history disease. After a cursory glance, if the patient has neither, doctors almost never diagnose cancer. For example, doctors usually diagnose bronchitis or some other condition if a nonsmoker has chest pains and trouble breathing.Cancer survival rates have improved significantly since the 1990s. But to take full advantage of treatment advances, early diagnosis is critical. A short delay could mean that the disease progresses from a treatable to an early-untreatable stage.
Heart Attack
Cardiac disease is generally a lifestyle/family history condition as well. But heart disease can affect anyone. This condition is the leading cause of death not only in the United States, but worldwide as well.So, anyone can have a heart attack. Further complicating matters, not everyone has the same symptoms. For example, many female heart attack victims do not have serious chest pains. If the doctor suspects heart disease, the doctors should get more information before diagnosing the patient. But because of the aforementioned environment, that’s probably not going to happen.
Depression
Many times, doctors confuse situational depression with clinical depression. These conditions have basically the same symptoms. But as the name implies, situational depression relates to a situation in life, like a divorce, job loss, or the death of a loved one. Situational depression usually goes away on its own. But clinical depression is a different matter. These Individuals have chemical imbalances. Without proper treatment, their depression will get much worse, https://mentalhealthinnovation.org/xanax-alprazolam/.
Celiac Disease
According to some estimates, Celiac Disease has about an 80 percent misdiagnosis rate. This serious and treatable condition is basically an extreme reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and other grains. Celiac disease attacks the lining of the small intestine. Because the disease is somewhat rare, and because the symptoms include constipation and other stomach problems, many doctors diagnose these patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Stroke
This condition is not a lifestyle or genetic disease. But Many doctors think that strokes only happen to old people. But anyone can have an issue with the amount of oxygen that flows to the brain. Nevertheless,doctors diagnose many young stroke victims with migraine headaches, vertigo, oreven alcohol intoxication.
Lyme disease
Tick bites cause this condition, so it is seemingly random.Moreover, not everyone has a severe rash, which is the signature symptom of Lyme Disease. Therefore, most people go from doctor to doctor for more than a year before one of them provides the proper diagnosis.
Fibromyalgia
A condition which features vague, generalized pain in seemingly random parts of the body sounds a lot like arthritis. Generally,that’s the diagnosis that fibromyalgia patients receive. Arthritis is much more common than fibromyalgia. Moreover, fibromyalgia is usually associated with middle-aged women. So, instead of fibromyalgia treatments, many patients receive arthritis treatments, and their pain gets worse and worse.
Thyroid Problems
This glad is near the Adam’s apple and is responsible for awide range of body functions, such as weight regulation and sexual activity.Some people have overactive thyroids (hyperthyroidism) or underactive hormone glands (hypothyroidism). To diagnose thyroid problems, most doctors rely on quick thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) tests. These tests are often inaccurate. Because of self-imposed time restrictions, doctors have no other information to go on.
Aortic Dissections
Tears in the aortic wall must be diagnosed quickly or they are often fatal. Blood surges through the tear, especially if it’s in the heart/lung area, and causes the two layers of the aortic wall to separate. But There are no signature symptoms and the condition can present itself in various ways. Doctors fail to diagnose aortic dissections in about a third of the cases they see.
Pulmonary Embolism
Many patients develop blood clots after surgery. Clots that migrate to the heart/lung area cause shortness of breath and may even be fatal.But the PE symptoms are a lot like heart disease and some other cardiac conditions. PE symptoms also mimic some routine breathing disorders, likeasthma. Without an extensive conversation about the patient’s medical history and other such information, it’s almost impossible to diagnose these conditions correctly. About a third of PE patients are either sent home with medication or diagnosed with the wrong condition.
Reach Out to an Experienced Attorney
Misdiagnosis is a serious problem in Georgia. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Marietta, contact The Phillips Law Firm LLC. We Routinely handle matters in Cobb County and nearby jurisdictions.
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