Lost in Diagnosis

Navigating the Communication Challenge of Misdiagnosis in Women

Each year in Australia, approximately 140,000 diagnostic errors occur, resulting in estimated 21,000 serious injuries and between 2,000 to 4,000 deaths. Communication is a contributing factor in up to 80% of diagnostic errors. Misdiagnosis is potentially worse for women, who often feel unheard or dismissed in the clinical setting. 

Lost in Diagnosis brings together patients, doctors, and health communication experts for an immersive and interactive discussion on the challenges women face when seeking diagnosis and the importance of communication in the diagnostic encounter. Combining personal experience with medical insight and health advocacy, our diverse panel will delve into these diagnostic difficulties, including dismissed pelvic pain and undetected heart disease.

Panel discussion 
Moderated by Dr Amy Coopes, Canberra-based doctor, writer and editor at Croakey Health Media
Darlene Cox, Executive Director of Health Care Consumers Association Inc. 
Jen Morris, Patient Safety Advocate 
Dr Marisa Magiros, General Practitioner and medical educator, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners 
Dr Arnagretta Hunter, cardiologist and Human Futures Fellow, College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University
Dr Mary Dahm, ARC DECRA Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Communication in Health Care (ICH) at the Australian National University

You can share your thoughts and potential question to the panel in this short survey.

Read More: Broad Agenda | Her Canberra

Wellspring: Enquiry and Exchange

Bringing campus to the community, Wellspring is an exciting series of immersive events that explores new depths of cultural enquiry and exchange. A collaboration between The Street Theatre and the ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Wellspring invites Canberra’s curious to experience the inexhaustible source of human creativity and communication: from Cleopatra to women's health, the bush to the International Space Station.

Get ready for big bold ideas inviting curiosity and conversation.

We understand some attendees may have personal experiences of gender bias and harm in healthcare. For some attendees, these experiences may be very raw or ongoing. We need your help to avoid causing distress to attendees who have had these experiences, and to ensure all attendees get the most out of the event through discussion of issues of broad relevance, rather than the specifics of particular conditions or scenarios. Therefore, we ask that attendees focus their contributions on general issues and ideas, rather than specific personal matters. 

We encourage attendees with a personal story about gender bias and womanhood in healthcare to please consider making a submission to the current open government consultation on gender bias in health care, where you can tell your story in your own time and on your own terms. Your story matters. 

More Information

Disclaimer: This event is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a platform to seek or receive medical advice.

Content/trigger warning: We anticipate some of the topics will be difficult to hear and reflect upon for some members of the audience. This event will contain content that potentially discusses harm, serious injuries and death in relation to health care, including but not limited to misdiagnosis. It also addresses communication challenges faced by women in the health care settings, including feelings of being unheard or dismissed. We ask the audience to please be mindful and considerate of other audience members and provide relevant content warnings when asking questions or providing comments.

Street Three | Unreserved | Duration 90 minutes
Click here for information on COVID 19 venue safety.