This is different than the chain of events leading to a misdiagnosis that have occurred in most cases covered in this blog. Typically, a lab mix up occurs which results in a false diagnosis, ultimately leading to unnecessary surgery and/or treatment for cancer. It is not until after the surgery that the routine post surgical tests of the biopsied tissue reveal there was no cancer in the first place. In this case, the testing of the post surgical biopsy tissue (from an unrelated surgery) was where the mistake and resulting misdiagnosis occurred.

Regardless of where the error occurred in the complex biopsy evaluation process, it is possible to avoid adverse outcomes such as these. Know Error develops and markets the know error® system which utilizes bar coding, forensic principles and DNA matching to confirm that the biopsy samples being evaluated belong to the patient being diagnosed. In this case, DNA testing conducted prior to treatment would have revealed two tissue types and that the one with cancer did not match this patient's DNA.

Available for a diverse range of tissue types, the know error® system brings new levels of patient safety and diagnostic accuracy to the biopsy evaluation process. Since the company's launch in 2009, hundreds of physicians in a variety of specialties have incorporated the know error® system as a standard for their patient care.

To learn more about the know error® system, visit our website www.knowerror.com.