A medical study has shown that the majority of people who believe that they have a penicillin allergy, in fact, do not. When wrongly labeled with this allergy, people in New York and elsewhere have their infections treated with alternative antibiotics that tend to be less effective and cost more. The unnecessary use of alternative antibiotics also increases opportunities for bacteria to develop a resistance to strong antibiotics.

It is estimated that less than 2 percent of potential cancer patients in New York and across the U.S. receive incorrect test results from a hospital pathology lab. While this number is relatively low, the consequences of such mistakes can be devastating for the patients involved.