Misdiagnosis in Women’s Health: A Growing Epidemic

According to a recent report, women are roughly 66% more likely to receive a medical misdiagnosis than men. Misdiagnosis is a serious and dangerous problem that can cause long-term harm to patients and their families, and misdiagnosis, in any case, can have potentially dire consequences. However, research consistently demonstrates that women often bear the brunt of these diagnostic errors, which raises critical questions about gender equality in the medical field.

Many different causes likely contribute to the current gender gap in diagnostic accuracy. Understanding these causes is vital to embracing more equitable healthcare practices and improving women’s health outcomes in the years ahead. Let’s take a closer look at some of the reasons women may be misdiagnosed more frequently than men and explore what legal options may be available to women who have suffered as the result of a medical misdiagnosis.

Why are women more likely to be misdiagnosed? 

Every year, nearly 800,000 Americans die or become permanently disabled as a result of medical misdiagnosis. This unfortunate statistic underscores the scope of harm that can be caused by medical errors. Given that women are more likely to be victims of misdiagnosis, it stands to reason that women find themselves at an increased risk of suffering severe long-term consequences as a result of their medical care.

Here are some of the reasons women may be more likely to suffer the devastating consequences of medical misdiagnosis:

Underrepresentation in research

Despite the fact that women outnumber men in the United States population, women have historically been extremely underrepresented in clinical trials and other forms of medical research. In fact, between 1977 and 1986, it was actively against FDA policy to include women of childbearing age in the early phases of clinical trials.

Ever since this policy was overturned in the early 1990s, many medications and treatment protocols have continued to be tested primarily on male subjects, resulting in inaccurate assumptions and a lack of comprehensive understanding about how diseases and treatments may impact women specifically. This lack of representation affects diagnostic accuracy and treatment effectiveness and may result in female patients suffering more negative consequences than their male counterparts, even when receiving the same treatments.

Implicit gender bias

According to a report published by the United Nations in 2020, roughly 90% of people around the world harbor some level of gender bias towards women. This implicit bias doubtlessly shows up within the healthcare industry and contributes to women’s disparate poor health outcomes. Gender bias may present as women’s symptoms being dismissed as psychological or exaggerated. One meta-analytic study even found that physicians were more likely to note and focus on women’s emotions in their notes and more likely to focus on the “scientific and bodily diagnoses” of men.

This research indicates that physicians may be more likely to attribute their female patients’ symptoms to stress, anxiety, or hormonal changes and avoid investigating or tending to the potential underlying conditions or causes. This implicit bias can increase the likelihood of misdiagnosis and delayed treatment, as female patients may have to wait until they manifest more obvious physical symptoms before their healthcare providers take them seriously.

Biological differences

Many conditions manifest differently in women than in men. For example, heart disease symptoms in women are often more subtle, which makes it easier for providers to miss or misdiagnose. The aforementioned gender gap in medical research may further impede physicians’ understanding of how conditions may present in women, as their research and training likely centered around standard symptom presentations in male patients.

Similarly, the biological differences between male and female bodies can lead to differences in how various medications and other treatments affect patients of opposite sexes. For example, the active ingredient in Ambien is metabolized more quickly by male patients. Due to a lack of gender-diverse medical research, however, it took nearly 20 years for scientists to discover that women needed to be prescribed a dosage that was 50% as strong as was previously considered “standard” to account for these metabolic differences.

What are some commonly misdiagnosed conditions?

Incidences of medical misdiagnosis may not always be well-accounted for in contemporary research statistics. However, we have enough data to demonstrate some trends with respect to the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions in women. Some examples of conditions that are often misdiagnosed include:

• Heart disease
• Autoimmune diseases (such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis)
• Endometriosis
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
• Breast cancer
• Ovarian cancer

Early detection is crucial for many of these conditions, and delays in diagnosis and treatment can have serious ramifications for female patients. Misdiagnosis or failure to recognize early warning signs of these conditions can lead to advanced disease progression, which can complicate future treatment and result in additional healthcare costs and other losses.

Is misdiagnosis considered medical malpractice?

Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider’s negligence results in harm to a patient. Generally, in order to prove medical negligence, patients must demonstrate that:

• The healthcare provider had a legal duty to care for a patient.
• The patient suffered verifiable harm while under the care of the provider.
• The harm suffered by the patient was the result of the provider failing to exercise the level of care expected of them.

In misdiagnosis cases, negligence may look like a healthcare provider failing to order proper tests, misreading lab results, or dismissing symptoms without thorough evaluation. As we’ve already discussed, healthcare providers may be more likely to misunderstand or dismiss women’s medical concerns due to implicit bias and other factors. As a result of these gender-based discrepancies, it stands to reason that cases of misdiagnosis in women are directly attributable to gender bias.

What to do if you have been harmed by a medical misdiagnosis

If you are a victim of medical misdiagnosis and feel that all of the conditions outlined above have been met in your case, you may have cause to pursue a malpractice claim. The first thing you need to do if you feel that these conditions apply to you is to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney from Nace Law Group Accident & Injury Lawyers.

Our medical malpractice lawyers can help you gather the information and evidence you need to file a claim for compensation. Depending upon the specifics of your case, you may be eligible to seek economic damages to cover the cost of your medical expenses, lost wages, or reduced capacity for employment. You may also be entitled to non-economic damages to account for the pain and suffering you may have experienced as a result of your misdiagnosis.

If you or a loved one has been impacted by a medical misdiagnosis that you believe may have been attributable to negligence and/or gender bias, the team at Nace Law Group Accident & Injury Lawyers is here to help. We can support you throughout every step of your legal process and provide you with the tools and information you need to secure the best possible outcome for your case. Reach out today to schedule a consultation with our team, and let’s take the next step on your healing journey together.