Healthcare Business Today | Dr. MacKoul Discusses The High Cost of Misdiagnosing Women’s Health Conditions

“The burden of finding and getting adequate care falls on the patient. Patients have to be their own best advocates. They need to understand the disease process, and seek the help of a specialist to ensure the best care possible.” said Dr. Paul MacKoul.

In this article developed for Healthcare Business Today, Paul MacKoul MD discusses the high cost of misdiagnosing women’s gynecologic conditions. Per Dr. MacKoul, mismanagement of complex conditions such as fibroids and endometriosis often leads to infertility, and can also cause persistent and incapacitating pain and bleeding. There seems to be an endless flow of misdiagnosed and poorly treated patients, who come into our office for consultations and find there has been a delay in care in the management of their endometriosis or fibroids.

With these complex conditions, it is essential to seek specialty care and efficient minimally invasive options for treatment. CIGC patients recover within days vs weeks after GYN surgery, and go back to their normal routine sooner.

FROM THE ARTICLE:

This OBGYN concept of managing the symptoms of endometriosis, but not treating the problem early, results in progressive disease requiring the use of narcotics to control pain that most OBGYNs could not even imagine. Additionally, birth control pills, which are routinely passed out by OBGYNs as the way to manage endometriosis, only provide short-term relief, at best. OBGYNs must be educated that endometriosis needs to be diagnosed first, then treatment started dependent on the stage of disease. Birth control pills are not a “one size fits all” solution for all stages of this disease.