Emergency rooms are very busy places. Especially after hours and on weekends, anyone in need of immediate medical attention may come to the emergency room seeking diagnosis and possibly admission to the hospital.
The professionals staffing emergency rooms need to be able to make rapid judgments regarding patients’ conditions and what kinds of treatment they may require. Unfortunately, the intense pressure of working in an emergency room can compromise the job performance of medical professionals.
Misdiagnosis in an emergency room setting is relatively common and can have major implications for a patient in need of immediate care.
Patients often don’t get the support they need
According to an analysis of emergency room outcomes, more than seven million diagnostic errors occur in emergency rooms annually in the United States. That figure is alarmingly high. It represents approximately one in 18 patients seeking care in an emergency room setting.
Health care professionals may turn some people away without diagnosing or treating them because they ignore symptoms or fail to recognize the warning signs of major medical events. Others may gain admission to the hospital, only to undergo improper treatment due to an inaccurate diagnosis.
What causes emergency room errors?
Mistakes in emergency room settings can occur for many different reasons. Diagnostic errors sometimes occur because of communication issues. Medical professionals may not ask the right questions or may not take a patient’s self-reported symptoms as seriously as they should. They may fail to communicate with one another about what a patient disclosed to them during their conversations, leaving other professionals without all of the information about the situation.
Other times, personal bias could influence how professionals handle a patient’s case. The personal characteristics of a patient could trigger implicit bias. Other times, patients reporting symptoms that remind a medical professional of a prior drug-seeking patient might not receive the care that they deserve because the person assisting them rushes to the wrong conclusion about their true intentions.
Understaffing, burnout and a host of other challenges also contribute to the high rate of diagnostic errors in emergency room settings. Those coping with the aftermath of significant medical errors may need help holding health care professionals and facilities accountable.
Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit after a major emergency room error can help diminish the economic harm people must endure. Successful lawsuits can lead to compensation for treatment expenses, lost wages and other economic consequences of malpractice.