The misdiagnosis of a medical condition can be due to a variety of factors. While the most commonly thought of reason is likely the failure of a medical professional, in Pennsylvania or elsewhere, to pay attention to symptoms that indicate a medical condition, there are other situations where it can occur. Another reason for a failure to diagnose a condition could have to do with tests conducted. Errors occurring in the lab could lead to mix-ups regarding who receives the results.
Lab errors could occur if, for instance, a specimen becomes contaminated with tissue from another sample. Problems could also arise if the samples are mixed-up. If the wrong person is provided results to a test it could lead to a misdiagnosis of that patient's actual condition. These are called "specimen provenance complications," or SPCs, and are defined as lab errors that happen without anyone realizing it.
Recently a study on the frequencies of SPCs was conducted in relation to prostate biopsies. A total of 13,000 samples were reviewed. The specimens were acquired from a total of 54 labs of different types. While some of the labs performed better than others, none of those 54 labs made it through without at least one such error being identified. The SPC errors were found in a total of 3.5 percent of the specimens included in the study.
Because in order to receive permission for the study it had to be conducted without any identifying information being provided with the specimens, information regarding the outcome of the health of patients affected by these errors found is unknown. It is easy to see however how errors such as these could lead to a misdiagnosis. This type of mistake could be serious and result in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Source: MedPage Today, "Study Shows ID Errors in Prostate Biopsies," Charles Bankhead, Jan. 10, 2013
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