Written by Sarah Lim, Lic #0M52397

A recent study found that improving diagnoses in three areas could help improve patient mortality rates, thus reducing malpractice claims.  The main goal of this article was to identify the diseases that cause the most serious harm when the diagnosis is missed.  The top three are cancer, vascular events, and infections. 

Researchers examined over 55,000 medical malpractice claims between 2006 and 2015 and found that nearly half of these claims involved internists, family physicians, and pediatrics.  The researchers also found that almost 12,000 were the result of a misdiagnosis.  The study found that almost 75% of misdiagnoses resulting in patient harm or death were linked to cancer, vascular events, and infection. 

The following conditions, when misdiagnosed, can lead to severe patient harm/death, and fall within the category of cancer, vascular events, and/or infection: 

1.     Stroke

2.     Myocardial Infarction

3.     Venous thromboembolism

4.     Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection

5.     Sepsis

6.     Meningitis and Encephalitis

7.     Spinal Abscess

8.     Pneumonia

9.     Endocarditis

10.  Lung Cancer

11.  Breast Cancer

12.  Colorectal Cancer

13.  Prostate Cancer

14.  Melanoma

It is noted that most misdiagnoses are due to clinical judgment failures instead of communication breakdowns.  It was also noted that a significant difference would be seen if the following specific conditions were addressed in the corresponding care settings:

·      Stroke in the emergency department

·      Sepsis in the hospital

·      Lung cancer in primary care 

The results of this study show that serious harms related to misdiagnosing could be considerably reduced by improving diagnostic decision-making, especially in these areas.