Medical professionals have never had more resources than they currently enjoy. They can use visual testing systems to validate the presence of internal injuries. They can send tissue samples for genetic sequencing to verify what type of cancer a patient has.
There are many tools available to help physicians accurately diagnose patients and ensure that they receive appropriate treatment. Unfortunately, diagnostic errors continue to affect millions of people every year. Sometimes doctors fail to diagnose patients. Other times, they reach the wrong diagnostic conclusion, which may mean the patient receives the wrong type of treatment.
Why do doctors continue to make diagnostic mistakes despite having access to powerful diagnostic tools?
Doctors have pressure on their time
The pressure to maximize employer profits inevitably compromises the standard of care that physicians can provide their patients. Those working at busy hospitals and corporate medical practices often need to see a challenging number of patients each day.
Many physicians report an average of 20 patient encounters per shift. That leaves them with limited time to review medical records, communicate with the patients and make a diagnostic determination. Constraints on a doctor’s time can lead to them cutting corners and jumping to diagnostic conclusions that are not accurate.
Implicit bias affects medical professionals
Everyone has some degree of internal bias. Cultural messages about other races and the sexes can affect how people view the claims made by others in a medical setting. For example, doctors might operate under the assumption that women might exaggerate their symptoms or that people from certain racial groups might lie in the hopes of acquiring narcotic medications.
Implicit bias can lead to doctors ignoring or downplaying the details provided by a patient during a medical consultation. They can then reach the wrong diagnostic conclusion because of the assumptions that they make about the patient.
Other factors, including pressure to keep costs low, can also affect diagnostic accuracy. When doctors cut corners, make assumptions or jump to conclusions, the patients in their care may suffer because of their decisions.
Demonstrating that another physician could have reached an accurate diagnosis could help patients and surviving family members develop grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. People who recognize that diagnostic mistakes are common and the result of systemic issues may see the value in holding a doctor or their employer accountable for a major diagnostic error that results in harm.