United States: The lives of one out of five Americans could have been saved if the doctors didn’t act negligibly, the data by the latest research revealed.
According to the study published in the journal JAMA last month, one of the five deaths is caused by misdiagnoses. The researchers stated that the study was published after examining the medical records from 2019; the records belonged to around 2,500 patients from 29 different American hospitals.
The reports by Daily Mail mentioned that the patients were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and lost their lives during hospitalization.
What research has to reveal?
While concluding the data, the researchers mentioned that approximately 23 percent of the patients received delayed treatment or were misdiagnosed; out of them, 18 percent people suffered severe harm or died.
A study backed by other studies!
The latest study published by JAMA shows similar findings to another study – which revealed that approximately half of the deaths in the US every year are caused by misdiagnoses or delayed treatment.
Furthermore, another study published last year by the BNJ Quality and Safety Protocol outlined that approximately 795,000 patients have lost their lives or faced serious consequences annually after being misdiagnosed.
By bifurcating the misdiagnosed data, it was unveiled that 22.5 percent was of lung cancer, 17.5 percent of strokes, and 1.5 percent of heart attacks.
How commonly do people die from heart attacks and lung cancer?
The official data revealed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has noted that around 900,000 people in the United States have succumbed to heart disease or stroke.
In addition to this, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the United States has mentioned that ‘lung cancer’ is responsible for the most number of deaths in the country. According to data, one in five people dies of lung cancer, which is followed by colorectal cancer – responsible for one out of ten cancer deaths, according to the Daily Mail.
Furthermore, it was stated that half of the cases linked to lung cancer were diagnosed after the cancerous cells traveled to other organs – making the situation difficult to treat.
According to Daily Mail, the researchers mentioned, “Because the overall burden of serious misdiagnosis-related harms is quite large, improving diagnosis of dangerous diseases most often responsible—stroke, sepsis, pneumonia, venous thromboembolism, and lung cancer—constitutes an urgent public health imperative.”
Furthermore, the lead researcher of the BMJ Study – Dr David Newman-Toker, during a conversation with NBC News, mentioned that the highest rate of misdiagnosis was found among women as well as minorities, including racial and ethnic communities. It is to be noted that these communities are nearly 20 to 30 percent more likely to White men to receive wrong or misdiagnosis.
Dr Newman-Toker, who is a professor of neurologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, also said, “That’s significant and inexcusable.”
What consequences do doctors face?
The experts have mentioned that the doctors are sued if they are blamed for misdiagnosis. According to the law practice Buchanan Firm, around 31 percent of doctors are sued due to wrong or delayed diagnosis, about 16 percent are sued because of delayed treatment, and wrongful deaths account for 13 percent, according to Daily Mail.
Is the US mortality rate linked to misdiagnosis?
As per the health officials, misdiagnosis does contribute to the US maternal mortality rate.
The regard was addressed by a physician at Baylor College of Medicine – Dr Hardeep Singh, who is known to reduce diagnostic errors said, “The vast majority of diagnoses can be made by getting to know the patient’s story really well, asking follow-up questions, examining the patient, and ordering basic tests. One of the things we hear over and over is, The doctor didn’t listen to me,” according to NBC News.