When people think about medical malpractice, it is common for the gaffes that garner national headlines to come to mind. After all, it is hard to believe that a surgical team can leave tools inside the patient, or that a procedure could be performed on the wrong side of the body. Nevertheless, it happens.
But it is the less notorious errors that happen every day patients should be concerned about. Misdiagnoses are one of these problems, and this post will highlight a few.
Personality disorders – Mental conditions such as depression or bipolar disorder may be difficult to detect because there are no physical tests that can be incorporated to rule out other conditions. Also, traits of other personality disorders may be seen, even though they may not be the condition that the patient needs treatment for.
Depression – In the same vein, accurately identifying diabetes stress can be difficult. An emotionally troubled patient who struggles with dieting and monitoring their blood sugar could cause a person to become depressed. Nevertheless, a person who is prescribed antidepressants could be harmful because the diabetes is not addressed.
HIV – Otherwise known as the human immunodeficiency virus, this condition may be difficult to diagnose because of the time it takes to actually identify it. The debilitating flu-like symptoms, including vomiting, fever and weight loss, could be misdiagnosed as several different strains of the flu. Additionally, it could take up to 90 days to complete a diagnosis. Meanwhile, a person’s condition could get progressively worse.
Because of this, doctors must use reasonable care in evaluating patients’ conditions.