Diagnostic Mistakes
A noted expert discusses why medical mistakes happen, and what doctors and patients can do to make them less frequent.
Medical Lab Mistakes
An expert explains that human error is impossible to completely eliminate, so labs are increasingly turning to DNA tracking to catch mistakes when they occur.
Penicillin Allergy? Probably Not (2017)
Experts discuss how penicillin allergy misdiagnoses happen and what results when so many of us avoid the most effective, yet cheapest antibiotic.
Meeting the Needs of Twice Exceptional (2e) Students
Many people feel that gifted children don't need any help because they're talented, but some have disabilities that are not identified because they are masked by their gifts.
PBC Liver Autoimmune Disease
A variety of liver diseases may cause test results that mimic alcohol-related cirrhosis. One, known as PBC, is the second largest reason for liver transplants in women.
Uncertainty in Medicine (2016)
Diagnostic tests are often less certain in their results than people think, making patients sometimes doubt doctors' competence.
Kids’ Kidney Stones
Experts discuss why the risk of kidney stones in kids is rising, why doctors still sometimes miss the diagnosis, and how kidney stones are treated in children.
Preventing Misdiagnoses
Studies estimate that about five percent of diagnoses are wrong, leading treatment down the wrong road. Experts discuss why misdiagnoses occur, and a new Institute of Medicine report on how they might be prevented.
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
As many as five percent of people diagnosed with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's diseases may in reality have a treatable disorder caused by "water on the brain." An expert and patient discuss.
Liquid Biopsies
Cancer biopsies traditionally require surgery to remove a piece of tumor. But doctors are increasingly able to find evidence of cancer in the blood, eliminating the need for surgery. Researchers hope to eventually be able to use these liquid biopsies for cancer screening and early diagnosis. Experts discuss.
Lung Cancer, No Smoking
Lung cancer is the world's #1 cancer killer, but its association with smoking has created a stigma that often stuns patients who never smoked and results in much less research money for lung cancer than for other less lethal diseases. Still, new treatments provide hope. Experts discuss these issues.
