The Ministry of Health has attributed the rampant cases of diagnostic errors to cognitive biases among healthcare professionals, systemic gaps, limited equipment, and the infiltration of unqualified personnel.
This communication follows reports that the late Omukama (King) Oyo Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV of Tooro Kingdom had to go to Kenya to receive an accurate cancer diagnosis.
Before this, he had reportedly spent months getting misdiagnosed care in Kampala’s major private facilities, after the diagnostic efforts missed his aggressive cancer.
Dr Charles Olaro, the director general of Health Services at the ministry, while reacting to public fury over reports of rampant cases of misdiagnosis, said Ugandans should not view misdiagnosis as a problem unique to Uganda.
‘Misdiagnosis happens everywhere in the world. In the US, which we take as the high end, diagnostic errors affect an estimated 12 million adults annually,’ he said.
An accurate and timely diagnosis is essential for successful treatment, reducing the cost of medical care and curbing preventable deaths, according to researchers and health experts.
Studies on misdiagnosis are scarce in Uganda, but a 2022 study in five general hospitals in central Uganda by Simon Peter Katongole of the School of Public Health, Gudie University Project, and colleagues, found that misdiagnosis is a big problem.
About one in 10 patients (9.2 percent to be exact) in central Uganda are misdiagnosed, while around 52 percent of health workers have witnessed or committed diagnostic errors, according to the report.
This study was conducted in five general hospitals in Kiboga, Nakaseke, Gombe, Kayunga and Mityana all located in central Uganda.
Dr Olaro explained that if the history or the information provided by the patient is incorrect, then the diagnosis may also not be accurate.
Cognitive biases
He said this is rife among healthcare workers because many of them make diagnoses based on the common diseases they see in that area.
‘For instance, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the first diagnosis people (healthcare workers) made was malaria, not Covid-19.’
According to information from the University of Toronto, cognitive biases in disease diagnosis include premature closure, where medical personnel jump to conclusions before a diagnosis is fully verified.
The other aspect is anchoring bias, where medical personnel lock onto an initial piece of information and fail to adjust as new evidence emerges.
Some medics may also struggle with confirmation bias, where they actively seek evidence that supports their initial conclusion while ignoring or downplaying contradictory signs.
Dr Olaro also said the misdiagnosis can result from ‘systemic failure’, say when a doctor spends a short time on a patient.
‘The other aspect is that you can only make certain diagnoses with certain diagnostic equipment, either imaging or laboratory diagnostics. However, it could be that the doctor does not interpret the scan results correctly,’ he said.
A 2025 analysis report by Munanura Turyasiima from the Department of Standards Compliance, Accreditation and Patient Protection of the Ministry of Health, and colleagues, shed more light on the issue of misdiagnosis.
‘Despite global advancements in diagnostic technologies, Uganda’s healthcare system grapples with persistent challenges. Studies reveal that 52 percent of healthcare workers in central Uganda have witnessed or committed diagnostic errors, with misdiagnosis rates as high as 9.2 percent in inpatient settings,’ the report read in part
The research noted that these errors are exacerbated by cognitive biases, limited access to laboratories, and socioeconomic barriers that delay care-seeking.
‘The consequences are dire: patients endure prolonged suffering, unnecessary costs, and eroded trust in healthcare systems, while providers face moral distress and inefficiencies,’ the report reads further.
Quacks in health system
While announcing the commemoration of World Patient Safety Day, slated for September 17 in Naguru Hospital, Dr Racheal Beyagira of the Ministry of Health said they are struggling with the infiltration of unqualified personnel in the medical field, especially in the private sector.
Dr Beyagira, who is the Commissioner for Standards Compliance Accreditation and patient protection (SCAPP), said they are working on guidelines to address this, mainly in the private sector.
‘The Ministry of Health is coming up with guidelines for services in the private sector.
We have not had them before,’ she said.
She said the guidelines will focus on issues like licensure, registration, training, and the ethical code of conduct for health professionals.
‘The absence of these guidelines powers quack medical practitioners hence the issue of misdiagnosis among others,’ she added.