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As you visit several of MoonDragon's pages on health related issues which may have complementary therapies included in with conventional approaches. Research any information you find about disorders and find those approaches which will be most appropriate for you and your particular situation. Discuss options with your health care provider before starting any new therapy or treatment. This information is not meant to replace recommended treatments or medications prescribed by your health care provider.
Alternative Health Choices: Ailments & Making Health Care Choices
(Grand Rapids, January 27, 2003, 6:47 p.m.)
Doctors are human and that means they can make mistakes. Most of the time there are no long-lasting effects, but sometimes, mistakes are life-threatening. There are things you can do to avoid being on the wrong end of a medical mistake.
Dr. Mark Novick a Radiologist says, "I think mistakes tend to occur because physicians and health care providers are in a rush. They're overworked, they oftentimes don't have complete information or they get misinformation." And sometimes, a simple lab error can lead to a terrible mix-up. This woman had both of her breasts removed because a doctor examined the wrong biopsy slide.
Experts estimate one out of every 500 people admitted to the hospital is killed by a mistake. But that estimate is probably low because a lot of mistakes are never reported. Doctors say the best way to prevent mistakes is for patients to get a second opinion, especially if a doctor recommends surgery or some other invasive procedure. That's what happened to Irene Taylor.
Taylor says, "I went for my yearly checkup and my OB/GYN, and the doctor felt something in my breast. He felt that it was a lump, and I should be seen by a breast surgeon. He felt it should come out." But a second, and third opinion, saved her from an unnecessary procedure. Taylor says, "I think that anybody can make a mistake, so get more than one opinion. The more opinions you get, the better. Especially if they're all the same." Dr. Novick says, "I feel that patients should be skeptical of the physician provider who is reluctant to advise the patient to get a second opinion, or who expresses some arrogance concerning the request for a second opinion." In addition to getting a second opinion, experts say it's important to ask questions. Make sure your doctor explains your diagnosis and treatment options. Also keep a list of all your medications and make sure to get the results of any tests you have. Then your doctors will have all the information they need.
Doctors making mistakes in genetic counseling, study finds
March 19, 1997
Web posted at: 10:35 p.m. EST (0335 GMT)
BALTIMORE, Maryland (CNN) -- A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine on genetic counseling suggests doctors often make mistakes interpreting the results.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions looked at how commercial lab tests for a rare form of colon cancer were evaluated. Fewer than 20 percent of those tested were given genetic counseling or offered informed consent before the test. That kind of advice could affect their plans to have children or their ability to get medical insurance.
Even more troubling, about one-third of the doctors misinterpreted the test results, concluding that patients weren't at risk for colon cancer when they might actually get the disease. Genetic counselor Jill Brensinger one of the researchers, called the results "frightening." A total of 177 patients from 32 states were studied overall.
The research suggests doctors need to do a better job of genetic counseling and educating themselves about the new technology, but an accompanying editorial notes that the researchers themselves may be guilty of an ethical breach since they didn't get consent from the doctors or patients they studied.
But Brensinger said there was no ethical lapse because the Hopkins researchers were simply functioning as consultants in these cases as they normally would. She also says no confidential information was leaked and patients who got the wrong information from their doctor were given the benefit of correct advice from the Hopkins consultant.
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