2023-07-23 17:00:00
795,000 is the precise number of Americans who become disabled or die each year in care facilities due to misdiagnosis, according to a new study published in the journal BMJ Journals.
Misdiagnosis causes death and disability
“Previous work has generally focused on errors occurring in a specific clinical setting, such as primary care, the emergency department or hospital care, explains David Newman-Toker, principal investigator of this study. These studies might not address the total number of serious harms across multiple care settings.”
To achieve their results, the scientists specifically studied infections, cancers and vascular problems. These three major groups of pathologies represent 75% of serious damage according to the authors.
So, by taking into account all serious illnesses, including categories of dangerous illnesses that are not part of the three major groups, the researchers estimated the total annual serious harm in the United States. Thus, they figure at 795,000 dead and disabled people due to medical errors.
17.5% of strokes are not diagnosed in time
In detail, five dangerous diseases (stroke, sepsis, pneumonia, venous thromboembolism and lung cancer) accounted for 38.7% and 15 other pathologies accounted for 50.7% of the total serious damage.
The misdiagnosis rate for all diseases is estimated at 11.1% by researchers. But for some pathologies, such as stroke, this rate was higher. For 17.5% of cases, doctors did not diagnose it.
“An approach focused on preventing disease and reducing misdiagnosis might significantly reduce this damage, says David Newman-Toker. Reducing misdiagnosis by 50% for stroke, sepsis, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism and lung cancer might reduce permanent disabilities and deaths by 150,000 per year.”
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