As a parent, when a civilian doc tells me "...and we run some other tests if he/she gets worse..." I wonder if it's the doctor talking, or the insurance company keeping costs down.
There is nothing "certain" in medicine. It is always a balance of risks/benefits. Unless the doctor is working in a capitated system, he loses nothing by ordering everything. On the other hand, if I order a bunch of tests, one is likely to be outside the normal range because of bell curve distribution. That may lead to more (unnecessary) testing, more meaningless results, and so on.
I hope I'm not the exception, but when the doc told me "I screwed up", my response was ..." and how are you going to keep other docs from making the same mistake?"
So many people/lawyers are trying to make a cheap $ off of honest mistakes that people are reluctant to admit that there was a mistake and then use it as a learning tool.
That is what the medical literature is for, to learn from others.
The real errors, such as removing the wrong extremity, are preventable except for the issue of humans being involved. There is movement toward admission of errors in hospitals, but the medicolegal system makes it challenging!
