Now, about misdiagnosis of diseases in Uganda

INNOCENT NAHABWE | COMMENT | There are many reasons why a doctor may give you the wrong diagnosis. But first, a story.

Around 2004, I was in vet school, and we were learning pregnancy diagnosis in cows. They would line up animals and we would go in per rectum to establish whether the cow was pregnant and estimate the age of the foetus.

Prof. Kayima, who taught us theriogenology, decided to throw a bull into the line-up. Two of us confidently diagnosed the bull as five months pregnant!

“Are you sure?” the professor asked.

One of the guys nodded with absolute confidence: “I even felt the crown. It’s going to be a big calf!”
It was a terrible case of diagnosis. They got a retake.

But, Prof. Kayima said something that stayed with me: mistakes may be tolerated in many professions, but mistakes in medicine can mean a death. And that is why misdiagnosis deserves serious attention.

From what I have observed and read, the causes can broadly fall into three areas.

A) Human error, knowledge and experience
Sometimes it is simply a mistake. A health worker may fail to recognise a disease, overlook an important symptom or not know where else to look when the obvious diagnosis doesn’t fit.

Medicine requires rigorous training, continuous learning and experience. When standards in training, supervision or professional development fall, patients ultimately carry the risk.

B) Diseases don’t always read the textbook
Some diseases present atypically. Different conditions can also produce very similar symptoms. That is where proper laboratory tests, imaging, pathology and other diagnostic tools become critical. But diagnostic equipment is only useful when it works, is properly calibrated and the results are correctly interpreted.

Sometimes, instead of investigating further, treatment becomes almost routine: cannula, antibiotics and the usual medication. If you improve, wonderful. If you don’t, another diagnosis follows.

C) The commercialisation of medicine
This one worries me. Medicine was traditionally regarded as a noble profession and, for many practitioners, a calling. But healthcare is also increasingly a business. That creates a potential conflict of interest when the person recommending a test, admission, procedure or surgery also financially benefits from it.

That doesn’t mean doctors are routinely inventing diagnoses for money … most medical professionals are trying to help their patients. But healthcare systems need safeguards so that financial incentives never influence clinical judgement.

When a patient is frightened and has just been told they may have cancer or need major surgery, there isn’t much room for bargaining. The doctor holds enormous informational power. That power must come with equally enormous responsibility.

#TBT — Now, about misdiagnosis of diseases in Uganda.
There are many reasons why a doctor may give you the wrong diagnosis. But first, a story.
Around 2004, I was in Vet School and we were learning pregnancy diagnosis in cows. They would line up animals and we would go in per… pic.twitter.com/858lizMXgR

— Innocent Nahabwe (@nahabwe) September 17, 2026

So, the next time you receive a major or life-changing diagnosis, don’t panic … but don’t be afraid to ask questions either.

Ask: What exactly confirms this diagnosis? Which test established it? Are there other possibilities? Can another specialist review the results?
And where appropriate, get a second opinion, preferably from an independent specialist or institution.

If two veterinary students could confidently declare a bull five months pregnant, confidence alone should never be confused with certainty.
For the big diagnoses, verify.

It could save your life.

*******

INNOCENT NAHABWE is a veterinary doctor and entrepreneur. This comment was picked from a post on X