In this conversation, you will meet Abdur. Abdur is from Bangladesh and had to travel to India due to a very lengthy process of getting diagnosis and treatment for his congenital heart disease. He experienced the BARRIERS to PUBLIC HEALTH of Incorrect Diagnosis (Medical Error) and the Access/Location of Facilities.
TRANSCRIPT
Interviewer: A medical error impacted your treatment and affected your life for many, many years. Can you tell me what happened?
ABDUR: I had the wrong diagnosis, at first, when I was a young boy.
ABDUR: For 12 years, I continued to see physicians for this incorrect diagnosis.
ABDUR: And then, after traveling 2000 kilometers to India, a physician there discovered that it was congenital heart disease and my management plans changed.
ABDUR: It took me 19 years before I had the surgery that actually fixed my problem.
EVIDENCE & RESEARCH
Medical errors are not uncommon in medical facilities around the world.
In the United States, one study suggested that “Medical errors are a serious public health problem and a leading cause of death in the United States.”
In this story, the medical error was an incorrect diagnosis.
According to a study from Mayo Clinic, “Mayo researchers found that as many as 66 percent of these patients [in the study] have their original diagnosis refined and in 21 percent of cases, changed.”
Location:
Bangladesh
Date:
2022
Barriers to Public Health: Financial Constraints, Health Care Provider Shortage, Location of facilities, Cost of Care, Medical Error
HEALTH CONVERSATIONS: When Aware We Care 