Hello All,
The topic of seeking a diagnosis and being abused by doctors in the process, appears nearly daily on our PPN Support Group. Almost every new member has a horror story to relate of their past battles and/or their on-going battle as they traverse across and through the 'diagnosis nightmare highway' lasting sometimes decades, and leaving individuals in a 'diagnosis limbo' at the hands of fallible doctors inflicting pain and damage through disrespectful and discriminatory actions and dis-action.
Maureen has written another great article on this topic for us...Thank you.
The topic of seeking a diagnosis and being abused by doctors in the process, appears nearly daily on our PPN Support Group. Almost every new member has a horror story to relate of their past battles and/or their on-going battle as they traverse across and through the 'diagnosis nightmare highway' lasting sometimes decades, and leaving individuals in a 'diagnosis limbo' at the hands of fallible doctors inflicting pain and damage through disrespectful and discriminatory actions and dis-action.
Maureen has written another great article on this topic for us...Thank you.
Doctors Not Being Held Accountable
The Periodic Paralysis Diagnosis
By Guest Blogger Maureen McCutcheon
The Medical Community is aware that tests and imaging and
interpretation of tests and imaging, are fallible and have proven to provide
incorrect, false, misleading, inaccurate and/or missed data and
information. The medical community is aware of this and that this
may be due to several factors that have proven the limitations of
technical equipment to always provide accurate information. And people
are fallible. People performing the test may not have been conscientious or
have insufficient experience or the person (even 'specialists') interpreting the
data, misreads or just 'misses' that can result from and in factors such as
writing and reading the report, handling/mis-handling either or both the
patient and testing equipment, image, or lab product. The condition of the
patient can hinder obtaining results/image or variable factors/conditions that
can influence the outcome of the image or testing. Or may not able to 'catch'
abnormality at time of test, imaging or study.
Though a
doctor may say that a test is "not showing anything wrong" or all is "normal," it doesn't mean nothing is wrong. It can mean that the test/imaging
that doesn't reveal 'abnormal' that seems 'normal' or 'nothing wrong' isn't
revealing the abnormality at that time so result isn't giving accurate info. It
may be that test isn't adequate for any number of reasons to reveal and help to
identify/recognize what is causing symptoms. Or as we know from experience, the
doctor has inadequate or inaccurate information that would to facilitate
accurate diagnosis (and doctor doesn't know enough to question or know that
they don't have accurate information). This may result in mistaken diagnosis or
treatment or no treatment. That may be a form of malpractice more than
discrimination. But mal-practice tends to lend itself to being a
co-factor/co-condition with discrimination and forms of abuse that could be
considered forms of medical abuse that is discriminatory because it tends to be
directed towards those who are disabled with rare conditions who physicians
discount and use hostile attitudes behavior that they would not or don't use
with people/patients who have common, familiar conditions that physicians are
comfortable with because they can readily give a diagnosis to.
NOT addressing malpractice. The
Human Rights we are addressing as ‘discriminatory’ is behavior expressed by
attitudes, actions and being treated differently and denied equal treatment by
some in the medical community towards many of those who are disabled by
physical incapacitation due to rare and hard to diagnose disorders. (This kind
of mistreatment probably is also exhibited towards those with some mental
compromise/capacity) There are too many examples of the medical community not
being held accountable and allowing themselves/each other to behave in
discriminatory manner towards those disabled by rare health conditions. This
isn't about having a doctor 'dismiss' person who is having physical
symptoms/dysfunction without being able to identify the cause other than to say
that since "can't find anything wrong to explain symptoms" (despite
significant signs that something is wrong and not normal) or discharging from
the ER because in their opinion they feel they've adequately ruled out imminent
life-threatening (primarily stroke/heart attack). The form of Human Rights
discrimination that we are concerned about is focused on the both the
intentional use of behavior/attitudes/actions by some doctors and others in
medical community towards those disabled by conditions that due to being rare
seem to mistreated and are not being treated with dignity, respect and are
given a different quality of CARING being extended to those with what doctors
must believe have a 'real' condition because they have a 'real' diagnosis.
Physicians can also too easily
use explanation/label from a psychological perspective that they should not be
able to use without proving they've ruled out everything else. (How can they
with over 6 or 7 thousand rare diseases/disorders?). However, that still should
not be reason for a doctor to behave in some of the despicable, horrific
behaviors they aren't being held accountable for that is being disrespectful
and discriminatory. And it is dishonorable to their profession.
Until later...