What Can Make You Misdiagnose?

Signs and symptoms, physical examination and investigations help a healthcare professional to arrive at a diagnosis for every patient they come across. This diagnosis can be nursing diagnosis or medical diagnosis, which ever one, they go together.

Having a correct diagnosis is paramount in any encounter or consultation between a patient and a healthcare professional. This is because diagnosis directs the treatment regimen best suitable for the patient.

The process of diagnosis is as follows; a patient meets with a medical personnel with some signs (as identified by the medical personnel) and symptoms (as described by the patient). Some ideas on what the diagnosis might be begins to come to mind. The patient is examined and perhaps sent to carryout some labouratory/radiological investigations.

Following an examination and on presentation of the result from the investigations, a diagnosis is either confirmed or dismissed and treatment commences.

A diagnosis can either be missed (when a patient's problem is not fully diagnosed) or wrong (incorrect diagnosis) or delayed (when a diagnosis is arrived at late). But which ever way, a misdiagnosis (failure of a healthcare professional to correctly diagnose a patient clearly and in good time) comes, it can have a serious health and financial consequence. www.feldmanshepherd.com

However, when a diagnosis is missed like say a patient presents with inability to sit down, swelling in legs with a hard and thickened skin, all this with history of about four years and consulting with you as a second opinion since the first consult told him he had an injection ulcer, what could be the cause?

Some things came to my mind like; a patient can lie about their symptom, lifestyle and the history of the illness or maybe there was no physical examination. Either way, I am of the opinion that a patient should be treated like they're family or close friend. That way some obvious diagnosis won't be missed. Sometimes too, we misunderstand the points other people are trying to make and instead give our own meaning to their words and explanations. But sometimes, i just wonder why we do this.

What do you think can cause a misdiagnosis/misunderstand a person?

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