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.
