Every year, approximately 135 million people visit hospital emergency rooms throughout the United States. You don’t want to find yourself in this position, but you never know when you’ll require emergency care.
Here are some of the many things you can do to help your medical team provide an accurate diagnosis and the right type of treatment:
- Share all your symptoms: There’s never a good reason to keep information to yourself. If you have a symptom, share it with your doctor. If you have a medical concern, bring it to light.
- You don’t understand your medical history: Don’t expect your emergency room doctor to have a clear understanding of your medical history. Instead, you need to provide as much information as possible. There’s always a chance that your current issue is associated with something from your past.
- You go alone: If at all possible, ask a friend or family member to accompany you to the emergency room. Not only will this relieve you of some stress, but this person can also listen on your behalf and help you communicate with your medical team.
When you take these key steps, you’re doing your part in preventing an emergency room error or misdiagnosis.
Unfortunately, even if you do everything right, your doctor could make a mistake. If you or a loved one were a victim of an emergency room misdiagnosis, learn more about what went wrong and how to make things right in the future.
While your health is a top priority, you should also learn more about your legal rights and how to hold the negligent medical professional responsible.