SNS Subscriber Edition Volume 18, Issue 31 Week of August 18, 2015 In This Issue
Feature: Special Letter: Undiagnosed: Why Is The Future Of Medicine Being Ignored?
My Diagnostic Odyssey
Defining “Undiagnosed”
The Future of Medicine: Can Technology Save Us?
Medical Refugees
Hazards of an “It’s All in Your Head” Diagnosis
How I Accidentally Became a Filmmaker
The CLARITY Undiagnosed Challenge
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Publisher’s Note: This week’s discussion combines the most advanced areas of medical discovery with the personal challenges that come with living just beyond the edge of today’s medical knowledge.
When I first met Dr. Katia Moritz, and heard about her search for a diagnosis, I considered “The Undiagnosed” to be a small, unfortunate group of people who had somehow fallen through the cracks of modern medical practice. Now, I know better.
Despite the money and time that has gone into today’s medical toolbox, there are an unbelievably large number of people who are either un- or mis-diagnosed. A recent randomized study of those who die in US hospitals, conducted by the University of Michigan, found that about one-half die of diseases for which they had not been diagnosed or treated.
As I learned more from Katia, I came to realize that “Undiagnosed” is a synonym for all that doctors today do not know. And unfortunately, there is a very great deal that fits this description. All of our members interested in the edge of medical knowledge will find Katia’s tale fascinating, and not just a little frightening. – mra.
