New York residents that suffer from certain medical conditions may be at a higher risk than others of being misdiagnosed. According to research, a misdiagnosis is the end result for millions of visits to the doctor each year. Medical conditions that are misdiagnosed or missed have the potential to worsen or become fatal.
While most people hope for the best during any routine medical procedure, many people in New York and around the country have been affected by a doctor’s mistake. One serious mistake doctors have made is operating on the wrong patient.
Multiple sclerosis affects many New York residents. This condition is often misdiagnosed, leading people to receive unnecessary or incorrect treatment. Now, the McDonald criteria, which are used to diagnose MS, have been revised to help to improve the accuracy of diagnoses of the disease.
On Dec. 14, it was reported that a bill that could make it easier for cancer patients to file medical malpractice claims was sitting unsigned on the governor’s desk. Called Lavern’s Law, this bill would extend the window of time that patients in New York and elsewhere around the country could initiate medical malpractice cases concerning cancer to when they discover the error. As the bill stands, the two-and-a-half-year time limit starts when the mistake actually happened.
According to a recent study, more than one-half of patients diagnosed with optic neuritis may have another condition affecting their eyesight. The study also suggests that the misdiagnosis is usually due to a limited patient history. Individuals in New York receiving this diagnosis may consider a second opinion.
Patients undergoing medical tests in New York might not realize that many tests are not 100 percent accurate. Factors among people, such as genetics, could result in inaccurate results and a misdiagnosis. A study conducted by PLOS Medicine revealed the potential cost savings on health care when infants in South Africa received two tests for HIV instead of one before continuing treatment.
Durotomy refers to a tear in the dura mater, or outer membrane, of the spinal cord and is often a consequence of spinal surgery. While these dural tears are often inevitable, they can usually be detected and repaired in a second surgical operation, leaving patients with no long-term problems. On the other hand, dural tears often form the basis for medical malpractice suits in New York and elsewhere in the U.S.
Despite advancements in medicine, some New Yorkers die from pneumonia every year. With prompt diagnoses and proper treatment, more people could survive bouts of pneumonia. Unfortunately, pneumonia is sometimes misdiagnosed by radiologists when people go to to the emergency department.
New York residents may be interested to learn that, according to US Centers for Disease Control study, many Americans live with HIV for some time before getting diagnosed. What makes this study surprising is that this includes Americans who regularly visit their doctor.
Parents of teenagers in New York may want to be alert for complaints of sore throat from their kids. Serious sore throats that require a trip to the doctor could be caused a type of infection that many doctors don’t test for. If this infection goes untreated, it could lead to serious illness or even be fatal.
