Diagnosing a patient is not an easy process. A significant amount of a physician’s medical training relates to the identification and diagnosis of different medical conditions. Doctors need to know exactly what conditions cause specific symptoms. They also need to understand how to properly test for those various conditions.
The diagnostic process may involve imaging tests, chemical analysis, physical examinations and a host of other tests. The goal of the diagnostic process is to determine conclusively what medical condition is to blame for a patient’s symptoms.
Doctors typically either reach an affirmative diagnosis or a diagnosis of the exclusion. Do patients who do not receive an affirmative diagnosis need to worry about their medical status?
Even affirmative diagnoses can be incorrect
The difference between an affirmative diagnosis and a diagnosis of exclusion is how the medical professional reaches their conclusion. An affirmative diagnosis typically occurs when a healthcare professional has evidence establishing that there is a specific medical issue present.
For example, a bacterial culture test can lead to an affirmative diagnosis of strep throat when someone presents with a sore throat and a cough. X-ray testing can affirm the presence of a fracture or broken bones.
A diagnosis of exclusion occurs when health care professionals rule out other potential causes of medical issues. Irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia are both maladies typically diagnosed through exclusion. There are no specific tests or markers that affirm the presence of these conditions. Doctors reach their diagnostic conclusion by ruling out all other reasonable causes of the patient’s symptoms.
Contrary to what patients often assume, an affirmative diagnosis is not always accurate. Issues ranging from contaminated samples to confirmation bias can lead to doctors reaching an inaccurate affirmative diagnosis. That being said, a diagnosis of exclusion can very easily also prove to be incorrect.
The failure to accurately diagnose a patient can do real harm to someone in need of care. Misdiagnosis might mean that the patient undergoes the wrong type of treatment, while a failure to diagnose might mean they don’t receive timely treatment for a condition that could worsen without care. In scenarios where patients suffer provable harm due to diagnostic failures, they may have experienced medical malpractice.
Particularly in scenarios where better diagnostic procedures may have resulted in an accurate diagnosis, there may be grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Holding physicians accountable for rushing through diagnostic processes or making mistakes in judgment can help people cover their increased care costs and lost wages.