A new study has revealed that nearly one in five hospital deaths in the United States are associated with misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), examined medical records from nearly 2,500 patients across 29 hospitals in 2019. All patients had been admitted to intensive care or died while hospitalised.
The study found that 23% of these patients experienced a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, and nearly 18% of those suffered serious harm or died as a result. The findings align with previous research suggesting that over a quarter of a million Americans die annually due to misdiagnosis in emergency rooms.
Another study, published in BMJ Quality and Safety Protocol, estimated that 795,000 patients die or are permanently disabled each year from misdiagnosis. The most commonly misdiagnosed conditions include infections, heart issues, and cancer. Specifically, 1.5% of heart attacks, 17.5% of strokes, and 22.5% of lung cancers are misdiagnosed.
Dr David Newman-Toker, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who led the BMJ study, noted that misdiagnosis rates are highest among women and racial and ethnic minorities, who are 20-30% more likely than white men to receive a wrong or delayed diagnosis. This disparity may contribute to the US maternal mortality rate, which is the highest among developed countries, with non-Hispanic black mothers 2.6 times more likely to die than white mothers.
Misdiagnosis is also the most common reason for malpractice lawsuits against US doctors, accounting for 31% of cases. Dr Hardeep Singh, a physician at Baylor College of Medicine, emphasised the importance of listening to patients: 'The vast majority of diagnoses can be made by getting to know the patient’s story really well.'
