Diagnostic error in acute care
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Pennsylvania patient safety advisory
- Contributor(s):
- Pennsylvania. Patient Safety Authority. ECRI (Organization) Institute for Safe Medication Practices.
- Publication:
- [Harrisburg, Pa.] : Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, c2010
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Delayed Diagnosis -- adverse effects Delayed Diagnosis -- prevention & control Delayed Diagnosis -- psychology Diagnostic Errors -- adverse effects Diagnostic Errors -- prevention & control Diagnostic Errors -- psychology Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures -- psychology Physicians -- psychology Autopsy Communication Delayed Diagnosis -- statistics & numerical data Diagnostic Errors -- statistics & numerical data Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures -- statistics & numerical data Emergency Medical Services Malpractice Systems Analysis Thinking Humans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Errors related to missed or delayed diagnoses are a frequent cause of patient injury and, as such, are an underlying cause of patient safety related events. Autopsy series spanning several decades reveal error rates of 4.1% to 49.8%. Diagnostic errors are encountered in every specialty and are generally lowest, at less than 5%, for perceptual specialties (e.g., radiology, pathology, dermatology) that rely heavily on visual pattern recognition and interpretation. Error rates in other clinical specialties are higher, ranging from 10% to 15%, which is consistent with the added demands of data gathering and synthesis. Additionally, diagnostic errors are frequently the leading or second leading cause of malpractice claims in the United States, accounting for twice as many alleged and settled claims as medication errors. Studies have shown that cognitive errors and system design flaws--especially communication issues--all contribute to diagnostic error. This article reviews the common causes of diagnostic error, the clinical diagnoses most often affected by diagnostic errors, and risk reduction strategies that facilities, diagnosing physicians, and patients themselves can undertake to decrease diagnostic error and increase patient safety.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101542997 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101542997