Diagnosis and Misdiagnosis

“7 Year Ago, Doctors Gave Mom Days To Live.  Assisted Suicide Would Have Made That True”
(The Federalist — October 20, 2017)
I will never forget it.  I answered the phone one June morning in 2009.  The voice on the phone said, “If you want to see your mother alive, you will come see her in the next few days”
What happened to my mom happens far more often than we realize.  It’s one reason assisted-suicide laws are so dangerous.
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“20 percent of patients with serious conditions are first misdiagnosed, study says”
(Washington Post — April 4, 2017)
More than 20 percent of patients who sought a second opinion at one of the nation’s premier medical institutions had been misdiagnosed by their primary care providers, according to new research published Tuesday….”Doctors are humans, and they make the same cognitive mistakes we all make,” said Mark L. Graber, founder of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine.

“Clinic falsely told dozens they had Alzheimer’s, suit says”
(Source: Times Union — February 10, 2017)
Gary fell into depression, spending his final weeks sitting in a chair with his hands in his lap until he went into their garage and shot himself in the head, she said.  An autopsy did not show any signs of Alzheimer’s she said.
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