Medical Miscalculations
A misdiagnosis will likely happen in your lifetime. How can you protect yourself?
For many, the greatest fear in seeking medical care is what doctors may detect. But what clinicians miss — or misdiagnose — could be far worse.
Even though medical misdiagnoses are prevalent nationwide, the UTHealth-Memorial Hermann Center for Healthcare Quality and Safety is working to prevent these critical medical mistakes. In fact, the center is a national leader in conducting research that generates new knowledge about how to improve the quality and safety of health care.
“The correct diagnosis is critical to everything that follows — the tests and the treatment,” says Eric Thomas, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for healthcare quality and director of the UTHealth-Memorial Hermann Center for Healthcare Quality and Safety. “Due to a misdiagnosis, people may feel badly a few days longer, or they may die.”