The Steep Price of Medical Misdiagnosis

Michael Cohen was told that a pain in his chest was indigestion, and it wasn’t until two years later that he learned it was actually caused by a lung tumor. By that time the mass had grown considerably, and is now undergoing tough medical treatments that may have been avoided if the cancer were caught early. Everyone will be subject to a medical misdiagnosis at least once in their lives, sometimes with serious consequences, according to a new report issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Dr. Cohen is not only a victim of a diagnostic error, but was on the panel that issued the report and is a professor of pathology at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He tells his story and explains the committee’s recommendations for avoiding unfortunate situations such as his.