Once again we dissect a diagnosis-gone-wrong from the records of the Health and Disability Commissioner. Can we learn something to take away and avoid making the same mistake ourselves?
Review the case here: https://www.hdc.org.nz/decisions/search-decisions/2019/17hdc00725/
As a GP, I would never send a patient to hospital with a diagnosis of otitis media unless there was something very wrong with the patient. I have never seen a patient with otitis media with the described symptoms. The patient has not just presented to the ED, they have been assessed and deemed to need emergent or specialist care. This needs to be part of the clinical summary.