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Five things to know about diagnostic error

  • Darya Yermak , Peter Cram and Janice L. Kwan EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: February 21, 2017
Diagnosis
From the journal Diagnosis Volume 4 Issue 1

Abstract

Diagnostic error represents an important patient safety issue. Herein, we summarize five important things to know about this topic. (1) At least 1 in 20 adults are affected by diagnostic errors annually. (2) The root causes for diagnostic errors are typically multifactorial. (3) Cognitive errors are found in the majority of cases. (4) Most missed diagnoses involve common conditions. (5) Advancements in policy, education, and health information technologies hold promise for improving diagnostic safety.

Keywords: diagnostic errors; patient safety; quality improvement
Corresponding author: Janice L. Kwan, MD, MPH, Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, 427-600 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X5, Canada, Phone: +416-586-4800, Fax: +416-586-8350

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission. DY, PC, and JLK contributed to the conception, design, and drafting of the manuscript.

  2. Research funding: PC is supported in part by a K24 (AR062133) award from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

  3. Employment or leadership: None declared.

  4. Honorarium: None declared.

  5. Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

References

1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Improving diagnosis in health care. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2015:369. Available at: https://iom.nationalacademies.org/Reports/2015/Improving-Diagnosis-in-Healthcare.aspx. Accessed 2015 Oct 16.Search in Google Scholar

2. Singh H, Meyer AD, Thomas EJ. The frequency of diagnostic errors in outpatient care: estimations from three large observational studies involving US adult populations. BMJ Qual Saf 2014;23:727–31.10.1136/bmjqs-2013-002627Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

3. Graber ML, Franklin N, Gordon R. Diagnostic error in internal medicine. Arch Intern Med 2005;165:1493–9.10.1001/archinte.165.13.1493Search in Google Scholar PubMed

4. Singh H, Giardina TD, Meyer AN, Forjuoh SN, Reis MD, Thomas EJ. Types and origins of diagnostic errors in the primary care settings. JAMA Intern Med 2013;173:418–25.10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.2777Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central

Received: 2016-11-24
Accepted: 2017-1-2
Published Online: 2017-2-21
Published in Print: 2017-3-1

©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  2. Editorial
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  6. Mini Review
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  12. Misdiagnosis of cerebellar hemorrhage – features of ‘pseudo-gastroenteritis’ clinical presentations to the ED and primary care
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  17. Congress Abstracts
  18. Diagnostic Error in Medicine
https://doi.org/10.1515/dx-2016-0043
Keywords for this article
diagnostic errors; patient safety; quality improvement

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. Exploring the iceberg of inappropriateness in hemostasis testing
  4. Review
  5. Diagnoses in and out of time: historical and medical perspectives on the diagnoses of distress
  6. Mini Review
  7. Five things to know about diagnostic error
  8. Opinion Paper
  9. The scientific nature of diagnosis
  10. Original Articles
  11. An assessment of overutilization and underutilization of laboratory tests by expert physicians in the evaluation of patients for bleeding and thrombotic disorders in clinical context and in real time
  12. Misdiagnosis of cerebellar hemorrhage – features of ‘pseudo-gastroenteritis’ clinical presentations to the ED and primary care
  13. The kinetics of haemoglobin and ferritin in longitudinal community patients with iron deficiency or hypoxia
  14. Which of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol estimates can be used in children with type 1 diabetes?
  15. Case Report
  16. Aseptic myonecrosis following intramuscular benzathine penicllin G injection: a novel syndrome
  17. Congress Abstracts
  18. Diagnostic Error in Medicine
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