Medical conditions can be difficult to diagnose for a number of reasons.
For example, you may have overlapping conditions or a rare disease that isnt on your healthcare providers radar.
Failure to get an accurate diagnosis can delay treatment and potentially worsen your condition.
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This article explains what to do when doctors cant diagnose you.
It also discusses possible reasons why something may be overlooked and offers examples of conditions commonly missed.
Your doctor may not be able to reach a diagnosis when:
What Is Failure to Diagnose?
Failure to diagnose is the terminology used by healthcare providers (and lawyers) to indicate a missed diagnosis.
This means a patient has a set ofsymptomsthat have gone undiagnosed.
How Often Are Patients Undiagnosed?
Statistics on the frequency of missed diagnoses vary according to the symptoms or the eventual diagnosis.
Research has found that multiple common conditions often go undiagnosed.
Rare diseases are often genetic conditions and not on a doctors radar.
Whats more, children with rare diseases can wait six to eight years to get an accurate diagnosis.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.Improving diagnosis in health care.
American Cancer Society.Key statistics for lung cancer.
Harvard Medical School: Undiagnosed Diseases web connection.Frequently asked questions.
CRICO Strategies.2014 Annual benchmarking report: malpractice risks in the diagnostic process.
Here’s how that can change.
