If you have visited your doctor or have undergone a medical procedure recently, you may have been surprised by the care and attention you received. It seems as though the days of having one care provider and ample time to discuss your health with your doctor are gone and have been replaced by an environment focused on speed and cutting costs.
We discussed this troubling change in an article on our website and how it has contributed to the number of misdiagnoses we are seeing. The full article can be read here. In this post, we want to further explore this subject and remind readers about how devastating missed or delayed diagnoses can affect their health and safety.
One study that we discussed in our article found that roughly 12 million people in the U.S. are misdiagnosed every year. That means millions of people are sent home from the hospital or receive care based on inaccurate information.
When this happens, a person’s life and health could very well be in danger. An untreated infection can spread; prescribed medication may be ineffective or even harmful; a person could even wind up needing an operation to repair damage caused by previous unnecessary or damaging surgery.
These conditions can take serious physical, emotional and financial tolls on patients. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a misdiagnosis, you could end up with painful conditions, fear of how a condition will impact your health and your family, as well as mounting medical bills.
Sadly, misdiagnosis is a very real concern in hospitals in Georgia and across the country. Millions of people have been and will continue to be affected by these mistakes. Whether they are the result of rushed care, overworked doctors, strained resources or negligence, victims and their families should remember that they have the right to explore their legal options and file the appropriate claims.
