In the society we live in, we hear a lot about clinical negligence. The complaints range from misdiagnosis, to total lack of attendance by the medical professionals. Interestingly this affects medical institutions across the economic divide ranging from local clinics in rural areas in developing nations, to hi-tech institutions in the more affluent areas of the world.

I have heard very scary stories of people who went for surgery and were stitched with some of the surgery equipment in their bodies such as scissors; of misdiagnosed patients going through very expensive treatments only to realize that they were being treated for the wrong ailment; of people dying because they were said to be suffering from a common ailment only to realize too late that they had a serious condition that needed to be attended to urgently and by a specialized doctor. I have also seen patients with mental and physical disabilities left to vegetate as doctors wrongly declare them unable to get out of bed or use their mental capabilities to make any decisions.

All these experiences make me wonder; do we really take our wellbeing seriously enough to question the doctors when they tell us we are suffering from a certain ailment and require a certain kind of treatment?

With all the tools available to modern medicine (the blood tests, M.R.I.’s and endoscopes), you might think that misdiagnosis has become a rare thing. Unfortunately studies of autopsies have shown that doctors seriously misdiagnose fatal illnesses about 20 percent of the time. Interestingly the rate has not changed much since 1930’s.

Under the current medical system, it seems that doctors, nurses, lab technicians and hospital executives are not actually paid to come up with the right diagnosis – They are paid to perform tests and to do surgery and to dispense drugs.

Clinical negligence or medical negligence occurs when a health professional provides care that is below standard causing or increasing the level of physical injury or mental illness.

Negligence may occur from delay or failure to diagnose a condition, delay or failure to treat a condition, use of the wrong treatment, or failure to obtain consent.

It is important to understand the ailment one is said to be suffering from, so as to understand whether the correct treatment is being administered and to understand the financial implications as well. Other equally important questions one may want to ask the Doctor may include:

• How long the treatment is is expected to take,
• Is  hospitalization necessary,
• Is it a permanent condition and if not,
• Is it likely to recur?
• What is the cause of the condition ailment?

The responses to all your questions are very useful in determining your next cause of action. You may have to change your lifestyle to avoid recurrence of the same condition and if nothing can be done to cure or prevent it from happening, you will be able to research on the best way to handle the situation. Either way you look at it, the more informed you are about what is happening to your health, the better the chances of finding adequate ways maintaining or improving your health.

I personally, prefer seasoned medical professionals who can actually be able to relate the patient with lab results. With many years of experience behind them, these medical professionals have gained an edge in the industry; they probably made their mistakes some time back and have now perfected their skills.

Fresh professionals straight from learning institutions can easily use you as their guinea pig – not necessarily out of will. But take note – some of the old professionals never learnt anything from their many years of practice.  They probably got into the profession for money, you can be sure that they do not care much for your health, so make sure the medical professional you engage is knowledgeable, enjoys what they do, and is always ready to answer your myriad questions. I know of someone who goes to the doctor with print outs from the internet just to prove that they know what ails them and what the doctor should prescribe – I do really sympathize with the doctors sometimes.

After all is said and done, make sure your safeguard your health – constantly review your doctors’ performance. If you are uncomfortable or unsure of the diagnosis or treatment they give you, go ahead and seek a second and third opinion, after all, believing that you have the right treatment is the first step towards getting physically healed.