Delays or incorrect treatment recommendations result when doctors miss the connections among a patient’s symptoms. The consequences of a missed or misdiagnosis are significant. Extended hospitalizations, significant pain, time away from work, and mounting medical bills are just a few of the potential outcomes that may arise when symptoms are missed by a doctor. 

Have you been injured or seen a medical condition worsen because your doctor was not able to connect the dots on your constellation of symptoms? Living with pain does not have to be your reality. Instead, begin taking steps to address your situation and fight for your rights. 

Contact Crim Law for a free case review. Our team of West Virginia misdiagnosis attorneys knows how to proactively handle missed or misdiagnosed cases on behalf of our clients. Discuss your circumstances with an attorney who has served clients and won favorable results on their behalf. 

Doctors Who Lack Experience Make Mistakes

There is a reason it is called the “practice” of medicine. Doctors build experience over many years of treating patients. That amount of time is used by physicians to begin to see patterns in caring for their patients. When a particular sign or symptom is observed in one patient, the doctor can then store that information away for use with future patients. 

Inexperienced physicians simply lack the real-world medical practice that their older counterparts possess. Accurately diagnosing a condition depends largely on identifying specific symptoms and attributing them to a medical condition. These symptoms can be verified in testing or other diagnostic measures. 

When an inexperienced physician makes an initial diagnosis, it may lead the doctor to believe that no follow-up is needed. That doctor could miss the connection between multiple symptoms or be overly focused on a particular symptom in diagnosing a patient. Incorrect treatment for the condition actually suffered by the patient can cost time, money, and be painful, to boot.

In the High-Stress World of Medicine, Miscommunication Leads to Errors

Consider an emergency room environment. This fast-paced, highly stressful world moves quickly. Physicians and their medical staff must make decisions efficiently- the well-being of their patients depends on their ability to do so. However, with so much going on at the same time, it is possible that multiple symptoms displayed by a patient may not be connected, making it difficult to correctly diagnose a medical condition. 

A doctor can provide an instruction to a nurse orally, but write the instruction a different way in the patient’s chart. The nurse could identify a particular symptom that the doctor did not, but may not have the experience necessary to communicate what she is seeing. Had the physician properly documented his instructions, the nurse might have identified a problem when the medication was administered. 

Nurses may give an emergency room doctor the benefit of the doubt or assume that he saw something that she didn’t. A nurse and a doctor may be in the same room with the patient for only a few brief moments. This is hardly enough time to coordinate their observation of symptoms to help a patient. When no connection is drawn between two symptoms, harm may result for the patient. Contact Crim Law for a free case review where you can receive personalized feedback about your circumstances.

Diagnostic Testing Helps Connect Symptoms for Proper Diagnoses

Doctors rely upon diagnostic and specialized testing to determine the true extent of a patient’s issues. Without these tests, it is difficult to make an accurate diagnosis. Often, a doctor links multiple symptoms to determine which test must be ordered for a patient. 

When those symptoms are not properly connected, it can result in a cascade of problems for a patient. The wrong test may be ordered, likely failing to diagnose the patient’s actual condition. Worse yet, ordering the wrong test may result in a misdiagnosis, throwing the doctor off the scent of the true diagnosis. 

Insufficient Time With Patients

It is common to hear people from a variety of backgrounds complain that their doctors do not spend enough time listening to their complaints. Any injured or ill person typically is more than happy to spend time discussing their condition. This is especially true when it comes to a person who helps them feel better.

When time with patients is not prioritized, it is extremely difficult to obtain a complete medical history for that individual. Not only does it become next to impossible to hear that person’s medical history, but it also makes the tests administered difficult to interpret. Running a patient through a battery of tests is not an option when the doctor has to rush back and forth between other patients. 

Additionally, the problems we have already talked about- issues with diagnostic testing, physician inexperience, and communication problems- all become much larger issues when limited time with patients becomes the norm for doctors. Symptoms may be noted but misinterpreted due to the doctor having to rush between patients. The failure to connect multiple symptoms can be a challenge for a doctor and can result in a patient’s condition worsening. 

When the Doctor Does Not “Check In” With The Patient 

For doctors, communicating with patients is as important after a medical procedure as before it began. In some situations, a doctor will refer a patient to a specialist or other doctor for additional care. In that case, unless the two doctors take the time to speak with one another, the patient’s condition may worsen. 

Contact Crim Law for a Free Case Review

Displaying multiple symptoms simultaneously means it is critical for a doctor to be able to connect them. That way, a proper diagnosis can be issued, and the correct treatment regimen may begin. Contact Crim Law today for a free case review.