A doctor misdiagnosing medical conditions is bad enough from a legal and professional standpoint but getting the wrong diagnosis because of a patient’s race is a whole other can of worms to open.
Researchers have found that race-based assumptions coded into diagnostic software for spirometers have led to the underdiagnosis of Black male lung patients. Some in the medical industry have held on to misconceptions for years that there are racial differences in health, such as Black people having lungs that were somehow worse than those of white people. A new study’s findings suggested that if current diagnosis-assisting software was changed to drop these misconceptions, as many as 40% more Black male patients would’ve been properly diagnosed with breathing problems.
Misdiagnoses and patient profiling
Patient profiling is the term used when a health care provider treats a patient based on their appearance, financial status, gender, race or other characteristics. This practice can harm patients since profiling can lead to wrong diagnoses and improper care.
Can you sue doctors for patient profiling?
While patients can accuse a health care provider of performing patient profiling, they can’t immediately file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor. Arguing that patient profiling occurred isn’t enough for a malpractice lawsuit, but wrong medical assumptions can lead to the negligence of a health care provider.
For a medical malpractice lawsuit to succeed, claimants must be able to prove that the health care provider was negligent in their diagnosis or treatment and that negligence led to injury or further medical complications.
Patients whose conditions worsened due to a misdiagnosis may want to hire an attorney to file a lawsuit. An attorney with medical malpractice experience would be able to determine if a patient has enough proof to launch a case and help claimants secure compensation for proper medical treatment.
