According to recent patient-safety research by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, medical errors are currently the third leading cause of death in the United States. These errors cause 251,000 deaths each year, more than accidents, Alzheimer’s disease, respiratory disease, and stroke.
New York doctors use different tests and procedures to make a cancer diagnosis. Patients who go to the doctor in order to have a lump checked might not know what the doctor’s visit will entail. General physicians might feel the lump and, if necessary, they might recommend a patient to another facility for further testing. A physician could recommend imaging tests and biopsy and tissue tests.
When New York patients need to have a procedure or surgery done to improve their health, they are often most concerned with who their surgeon will be. What they may not realize, however, is that it is the nurses, including surgical and patient nurses, who get to know the patients best.
For decades, death rates with modern medicine have been falling. Medical professionals have more information, more training, better technology and many other advantages. Procedures that were impossible in the not-so-distant past are routine today.
Many New Yorkers are aware that misdiagnosis is a major problem in the United States. However, they may not be aware that women are more likely to be misdiagnosed than men.
