COPD diagnosis: genome first

The US Institute of Medicine has just released a Report documenting the problems in the US relating to the frequency with which physicians make incorrect diagnoses of their patients’ illnesses (1). The Report included the calculation that on average all Americans could expect to receive an incorrect diagnosis from a physician at least once in their life. It explained that this error could be of minor concern or it could lead to unnecessary surgery or a lifetime of expensive, unneeded medical care. Patients who receive this information are very concerned about what misdiagnosis they may have received.