Finding The Right Diagnosis

Finding The Right Diagnosis (NAPSA)—Doctors say the foundation of every health care decision ultimately rests on yourinitial diagnosis. But what happens whenthat diagnosis is wrong? It’s a problem manybelieve has reached crisis proportions in America—with radiologists’ error rates now as high as 30 percent for patients with known disease. One solution comes from Premerus, a first-of-its-kind diagnostic management company dedicated to improving the accuracy of diagnoses. 7 Misdiagnosis of breast cancer and other health problems is growing. Patients simply visit an imaging center that’s part of the Premerus Platform and then have their tests transmitted to one of the company’s certified physician specialists. The expert then sends a diagnosis back to the ordering physician. People can ask their employers and health plans to find out if they have the Premerusservice or about joining. Doctors have warned that your first diagnosis can lead to an expensive cascade of treatments that—if wrong—can actually makethings worse. “Frequently, the wrong treatment not only fails to help the patient, but also carries the risk of side effects that may be worse than the original problem,” says Gregg Allen, M.D., chief medical officer of Premerus. For more information, visit www.premerus.com or call (866) 600-3016.