12 million misdiagnoses a year in the U.S.
Tyler Goldberg-Hoss
August 15, 2014
Every year, patients are misdiagnosed approximately 12 million times.
Every year, patients are misdiagnosed approximately 12 million times.
Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) systems are being implemented nationally, with unfortunate and serious problems that affect the safety of patients and ability of providers to provide safe care.
It has always been difficult for plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases to get good expert testimony, since often doctors prefer not to testify against other doctors. Things are getting worse for such plaintiffs, as specialist organizations, such as orthopedic and neurosurgical associations, are creating more burdens for their members to testify on behalf of injured patients.
Medication errors – often the result of poor communication between health care provider and patient – are common occurrences.
Discharging patients too early, often due to financial pressures, can result in "bouncebacks:" patients who end up returning to the hospital. Now there are counter pressures aimed at correcting this.
Among other things, curtailing our nation’s epidemic of patient harm will require "transparent accountability for harm."
Age may be a factor in some surgical malpractice claims, but age alone isn’t nearly enough to bring a successful claim. There are plenty of excellent surgeons out there still practicing into their 70s and beyond.
University of Washington Medical Center Ranked 11th Among U.S. Hospitals, but malpractice still occurs due to the nature of UW as a teaching hospital, and system errors including failures to follow up on care, among other things.