There are many ways a doctor may make a misdiagnosis. Some of the common types of misdiagnosis include:
- Incorrect diagnosis: This is when a doctor mistakes one medical condition for another. For example, a doctor may tell a patient that he or she is experiencing acid reflux when the patient is actually having heart problems.
- Failure to diagnose: This type of misdiagnosis occurs when a medical professional tells a patient that he or she is not suffering from any medical condition when in fact, the patient does have an illness.
- Failing to diagnose a related condition: Doctors sometimes identify one illness or condition, but fail to recognize another disease the patient is suffering from. When this occurs, the two conditions are commonly seen together. For example, a doctor may correctly diagnose that a patient is suffering from high blood pressure, but may fail to identify that the patient is also suffering from diabetes.
- Failing to diagnose an unrelated condition: In some instances, a patient is suffering from two different conditions that are not related but the doctor only identifies one.
- Delayed diagnosis: Delayed diagnosis occurs when a doctor makes the correct diagnosis, but it takes the physician a long time to properly identify it and the patient becomes worse while the doctor is trying to make a diagnosis.
- Missing complications: Doctors sometimes identify the correct illness or condition but fail to identify complications. For example, a doctor may correctly diagnose a condition but fail to recognize that medication the patient is taking is aggravating the condition.
