Ripped Apart: Medical Misdiagnosis And Malpractice

When persistent pain invaded Gary Stern’s gut, doctors at two local  hospitals focused on the digestive-tract disease he’d had a decade earlier. They didn’t listen to him insist this felt different, and they didn’t order a standard test to check for an ulcer. The misdiagnosis triggered a cascade of surgeries and suffering that took his life. David Black wrote the book Ripped Apart to tell the story. Gary’s wife Carol never left his side: “Doctors need to realize it’s ok to make a mistake. But don’t cover it up. And that’s what they did with Gary. And that’s what ended up being his demise.” And neurologist Dr. David Newman-Toker of the Johns Hopkins ‘Center for Diagnostic Excellence’ tells how patients can guard against medical misdiagnosis.  Links: Ripped Apart book, Center for Diagnostic Excellence, Armstrong Institute for Patient Quality and Safety.Do you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472