CAN can doctors miss diagnose?

Question

CAN can doctors miss diagnose?

Answer 1

yeah they do- quite often too. That's why they say to get a 2nd opinion

Answer 2

I sure they miss diagnose just like how I sometimes miss my dog when im at work

Answer 3

That has been known to happen.

Answer 4

YES.,

They are people and people make mistakes.

Answer 5

Of course!  Nobody's perfect and they make mistakes too!

Answer 6

Yes, of course they can!! Theydo it all the time

Answer 7

i believe in 2nd opinion from another doctor

Answer 8

Of course. Watch any episode of "House".

Answer 9

everyone makes mistakes!

Answer 10

i really need more information. it depends on whether they get the right diagnosis or not.

Answer 11

Oh yes, they are not infallible. That is why for serious diagnoses you should always get a 2nd opinion.

Answer 12

oh yes they do it all the time !

Answer 13

It happens. You should always research all medicines your doctor puts you on and procedures he wants to do. If you do not feel comfortable you have the right to get another opinion.

Answer 14

yes, some times if they misinterpret the inputs provided by you, or if they are unknow of the technological advancements they can

Answer 15

Yeah, Doctors make mistakes just as a normal person would.

I'm a student taking pre-med classes right now.

If a doctor misdiagnoses a patient its often due to multiple symptoms. This is incredibly complicated to work out and is like doing the worlds hardest crossword puzzle.

Answer 16

Of course. Doctors are only human and like all other human beings can make mistakes. Fortunately most mistaken diagnoses can be corrected, but some can't and the patient dies or has a permanent disability. This is very hard for doctors to live with, but something they must learn to accept. Honest mistakes are different from negligence, however. Almost all doctors try their best to make the most accurate diagnosis they can, on the evidence they have got. A very small number are negligent and could have made a better diagnosis of they had listened more carefully, carried out a more thorough examination or asked for tests to be done.

Answer 17

yep - just like you can't spell.  We are human, we make mistakes and are limited by our learnt knowledge of things.

I went to my doctor because I felt bloated.  He diagnosed constipation.

Went to another doctor, he made the same diagnosis.

Went to hospital, they made me wait because I said to help the little girl with the broken leg first (they assumed that I mustn't be in too bad a condition)

I had a ruptured appendix and had peritonitis.  The surgeons agreed that I was less than 6 hours away from dying.

All of this because I did not have quite the right symptoms for what I was suffering from.  Doctors have to make their best educated guess from the symtoms presented, even the worlds best is probably rigfht only 99% of the time, but this means that 1 out of every hundred is possibly wrong.  Most local doctors see on average 50 patients a week.  This adds up to 26 misdiagnosis a year.  Most doctors are not the worlds best.