Whether it’s for a routine illness, or for an injury at work, at some point everyone has to go to a doctor or hospital. If everything goes well, you’ll get the treatment you need and be on your way to recovery. If things don’t go well, you could end up with complications or side-effects from the doctor or hospital making a mistake during your care.
Below are some ideas for what you can do if you suspect that you have been the victim of a medical mistake.
Do Some Research
Some medications and treatments can have unpleasant after-effects. As unpleasant as they are, these after-effects are also a perfectly normal and expected part of the treatment. However, you could also experience unusual and abnormal after-effects that need your doctor’s attention.
One way to know which is which is to learn everything you can about your treatment and about any symptoms that you are experiencing as a result of that treatment. There are several reputable resources on the internet that can give you information about your illness and the treatment methods, such as Medline Plus, which is part of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
There are also patient advocacy sites, where patients with similar diseases or who have had similar procedures, can share their experiences.
None of these research avenues are meant to be a substitute for medical treatment, but they can all help you determine whether or not you should be concerned about your symptoms.
Confront Your Doctor
Patients are often reluctant to confront their doctors when they believe something is wrong. It is understandable; after all, doctors spend years in school learning everything they can about the human body. They are the final authority when it diseases, injuries, and disorders. But doctors are also human beings, which means they can make mistakes.
If you believe that something is wrong, then you owe it to yourself, to your doctor, and to the other patients in his care, to speak up. This doesn’t mean that you have to go into his office, guns blazing, and start accusing him. All you really need to do is stick to the facts, and present the information as plainly as possible.
For example, if your doctor has prescribed a new medication to treat your blood pressure, and you have been having strange side effects, then you should describe to your doctor the side effects that you’re having, and your concerns about the medication.
Or, if you have had surgery and are concerned because you don’t seem to be healing well, or are still having pain long after you should have recovered, then describe the sensations that you are feeling, along with your concerns about the effects of the surgery.
The intent is not to blame your doctor for any problems, but to approach him with respect to make him aware of what’s happening so that he can take steps to make sure that you are as healthy as you can be.
Get a Second Opinion
If your doctor does not share your concerns, or refuses to listen to you, then you should get a second, or even a third, opinion. Sometimes a doctor might not be willing to entertain the idea that he has made a mistake because he is afraid of repercussions. Other times, it could simply be that he feels so strongly that he is in the right that he will not entertain other options.
Having a different doctor, with a fresh set of eyes, look at your case could get you the results you need. If you do decide to get a second, or third, opinion, make sure you choose a doctor from a different practice. If you choose a doctor who works out of the same practice as your current doctor, your current doctor could influence the new doctor’s perception.
HIPPA rules require that all patients have access to their medical records, which means you can request a copy of your records at any time, and for any reason. You can then take those records to the other doctor without involving your doctor’s office, or alerting them to the fact that you are seeing another doctor.
Next Steps
If the second or third doctor confirms that the first doctor made a mistake while treating you, you have several options.
· You could present the new doctor’s findings to your old doctor, and work together to correct the mistake;
· You could “fire” your first doctor and enter a treatment relationship with the doctor that discovered the problem;
· You could contact a group of malpractice lawyers and sue the original doctor.
Ultimately, the option you choose depends on the relationship you have with your current doctor, and the nature of the mistake.
One thing to remember is that medical mistakes don’t just happen during treatment. In fact, one common medical mistake is a doctor failing to diagnose and treat an illness, or giving a patient the wrong diagnosis. In fact, misdiagnosing patients is actually more common than drug or surgical errors, and it’s the major cause of many malpractice lawsuits.
Misdiagnoses can actually be more serious than drug or surgical errors because they can seriously delay treatment for serious, and even life-threatening, diseases. So, a doctor prescribing a medication that is not as effective as it should be, or interacts with other medications, could simply require getting a newer and better medication.
On the other hand, a doctor failing to detect an illness like cancer, until it is too late for proper treatment, will serious and could have long-term negative effects.
Sometimes it’s easy to tell how serious a mistake is, simply by the effect it has on your life. For example, a piece of surgical equipment left behind could cause you ongoing pain, and require you to endure more surgery, and a prolonged recovery. A disease misdiagnosis could cause you to suffer for months, and even years, as your symptoms worsen, and even cause the onset of other illnesses. However, there are also times when the severity of the mistake is not readily apparent.
If you are unsure or how serious the mistake is, you can always consult with a lawyer to determine if your situation warrants legal action.
