How Often Are People Misdiagnosed by Doctors?

Can Smartphone Apps Help Doctors Avoid Misdiagnosing Patients?

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Shapiro Law Group

Doctors can use a smart phone app that helps them form a diagnosis. Launched in 2001, the app can help doctors avoid misdiagnosing patients. As of April 2015, the app is already being used by 1,500 hospitals. Younger doctors, belonging to a technologically savvy generation, have made the most use of this app.

The app works by entering the patient’s age, symptoms and other information to help doctors assess which health condition might be responsible. Once the information is entered into the app, it loads a database of photographs and scales them from the most likely condition to the least likely condition. Doctors can then compare the photographs with the symptoms presented by patients.

In some fields of medicine, such as dermatology, the app could be very useful. Dermatology focuses primarily on treating skin, hair and nail health conditions. However, even in general practice, the app could help doctors, as many health conditions have unique visual symptoms.

How Often are Patients Misdiagnosed by Doctors?

The main drawback of this app is that not all conditions present visual symptoms. It is still up to doctors to diagnose patients as accurately as possible, with or without a high-tech gadget.

According to the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine, one in every ten diagnoses in the U.S. are incorrect. In some cases, misdiagnosis can cause the death of patients.

We encourage our readers to continue exploring our website and Facebook page for more information on medical malpractice and misdiagnosis.

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