Understanding Diagnosis Errors
Nearly everyone will face at least one medical diagnosis error during their lifetime. These errors can manifest as delayed diagnoses, incorrect diagnoses, or diagnoses that are entirely missed. A 2015 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine delves into the widespread issue of diagnostic errors.
Personal Impact
Today’s episode features an interview with a physician personally affected by diagnostic errors and a discussion with a New York Times editor and author of The Elusive Body: Patients, Doctors, and the Diagnosis Crisis. Their insights highlight the profound impact these errors have on patients and healthcare professionals alike.
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For those interested in learning more about medical science, feel free to email questions to [email protected]. Supporting public media through NPR+ provides sponsor-free listening and additional content for over 25 podcasts. For more details, visit plus.npr.org. Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Production Credits
This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson and Berly McCoy. Editing was done by Rebecca Ramirez, and Tyler Jones handled the fact-checking. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer.

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