What is a differential diagnosis and why is it important to medical malpractice claims in Halifax?

What is a differential diagnosis and why is it important to medical malpractice claims in Halifax Nova Scotia?

Hi there. I’m medical malpractice lawyer John McKiggan. One of the most common mistakes that doctors make that leads to medical malpractice is failing to properly diagnose a patient’s injury or illness. This usually happens because the doctor failed to follow the Differential Diagnosis process.

Differential Diagnosis - Very early in their medical training Doctors learn to diagnose patients using the “differential diagnosis” process.

Medical malpractice lawyers know that conducting a differential diagnosis before administering treatment is critical, because without a proper medical diagnosis it may be impossible to provide proper medical care.

The differential diagnosis process has 3 simple steps.

Step 1: Get The Information: The doctor must gather as much information about the problem as they can. For example, history, risk factors, signs and symptoms.

Step 2: Create a List: The doctor must create a complete list of everything that could reasonably be causing the signs and symptoms.

Step 3: Rule In or Out: Finally the doctor must apply the differential diagnosis method to systematically conduct tests to rule in or rule out each item on the differential diagnosis list starting with the most dangerous ones, until the doctor is left with one or more probable causes for the patient’s illness.

Many times doctors fail to properly diagnose an injury or illness because they fail to understand the difference between Probable vs. Possible

Some illnesses and conditions are more common that others. Most of the time the probable cause of the patients illness turns out after investigation to be the actual cause.

Sometimes an illness or condition may be very rare. It may be the possible cause; but it is unlikely that the illness is the cause of the patients' complaints. In other words, the odds are that the rare but possible cause is not the actual cause.

But not always: Even if the odds are 1:1000, 1:10,000 or even 1:100,000 sometimes the rare but possible cause is the actual cause.

No Guessing Allowed - That's why doctors are not allowed to assume that the probable cause is the actual cause. If a doctor makes an assumption, without considering all the possibilities, the doctor is just playing the odds, or guessing, that their diagnosis is correct.
A doctor who bases a diagnosis on probability rather than possibility is simply making a bet. Most of the time, based on probabilities, the doctor will be right.

But the problem is that the doctor is potentially betting the patients life if they guess wrong.

If there’s no Differential Diagnosis then there’s Negligence

Diagnostic mistakes happen when doctors don't use the differential process, or skip one of the steps, resulting in the wrong diagnosis, resulting in incorrect care, which can lead to injury or death.
If you want more information about Medical malpractice claims call us for your copy of Health Scare: The Consumer’s Guide to Medical Malpractice Claims. This public legal education guide contains everything you need to know to protect your rights if you think you or a family member has been a victim of medical malpractice. The book is for sale on Amazon but we will send you a copy, at no charge, if you call us at 902-423-2050 or go to www.healthscarebook.ca

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