Expert links rising death rate to wrong diagnosis

Friday Olokor, Abuja

A medical expert and visiting professor of Pharmacology, Nagasaki University, Japan,  Prof. Omotuyi Olaposi, has blamed the rising mortality rate in Nigerian hospitals on wrong diagnosis.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, he said, “If the total number of people visiting the hospitals in Nigeria annually is 100, I think 30 per cent of the cases are due to wrong diagnosis, wrong treatment or wrong drugs. And most of the diagnoses are compounded by lack of appropriate equipment while some engage in trial by error.”

 Olaposi expressed these fears after delivering a paper titled, Improving medication administration competence and confidence simulation-enhanced pharmacology, at a conference organised by US-based Medbridge Global Company.

Olaposi, who is also the Director, Centre for Bio-Computing and Drug Development, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Ondo State, also noted that cases of medical errors in the country were alarming, and they require critical intervention.

He said, “Medical errors are unfortunately, a very big health challenge in Nigeria. They have a lot of dimensions. The first dimension is what is called misdiagnosis. That is when people are diagnosed wrongly and it means that the chances of treating the persons is almost zero. That will be giving a wrong treatment for a wrong disease.

“The second dimension is when doctors diagnose right, but the wrong drugs and medications are administered. You got the ailment right, but the wrong thing is given. The third is when you get the diagnosis right, get the right drugs to administer; but you administer the drugs improperly, probably due to insufficient training or exposure. So, these three are very important in terms of how people eventually die in our hospitals in Nigeria,” he added.

The Chief Executive Officer of Medbridge Global Company Simulation, Modupe Olowodahunsi, said the essence of the conference was to draw attention to the critical need for simulation in health care service delivery.

He maintained that for Nigeria to meet global standards in health care service, simulation and provision of standardised healthcare infrastructure must be attained.