Short Wave
Short Wave
NPR
Why you'll probably be misdiagnosed in your lifetime
13 minutes Posted Sep 15, 2026 at 7:00 am.
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Nearly every person will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime. That means either a delayed diagnosis, a wrong diagnosis – or no diagnosis at all. That’s according to a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine from 2015 on diagnostic error. Today on the show we talk to a physician who was personally affected by the crisis, and New York Times editor and author of the book The Elusive Body: Patients, Doctors and the Diagnosis Crisis.

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