04-03-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

The $80,000 clue hiding in plain sight in U.S. healthcare

The diagnostic odyssey is costing more than we realize.

[Photo: Getty Images]

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BY Linda Genen, MD, MPH

American healthcare faces a persistent paradox: We have extraordinary medical technology, yet patients often spend years navigating a system that treats symptoms before identifying the underlying cause of disease.

This dynamic is especially pronounced for children with neurological conditions such as epilepsy, developmental delay, and intellectual disability. Many families endure years of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, specialist referrals, and inconclusive tests before receiving a definitive diagnosis. Clinicians often refer to this prolonged journey as the “diagnostic odyssey.” It is emotionally draining for families and deeply frustrating for physicians trying to guide care.

It is also extraordinarily expensive.

When the root cause of a condition remains unclear, care tends to become episodic and reactive. Children cycle through emergency departments, hospital stays, and repeated testing as clinicians attempt to manage symptoms without the benefit of a clear diagnosis.

A TOOL THAT ALREADY EXISTS

What makes this challenge particularly striking is........

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