Diagnosing Diagnosis Errors: Lessons from a Multi-institutional Collaborative Project

Abstract : Diagnosis errors are frequent and important, but represent an underemphasized and understudied area of patient-safety. (1-8) This belief led us to embark on a 3-year project, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to better understand where and how diagnosis fails and explore ways to target interventions that might prevent such failures. It is known that diagnosis errors are common and underemphasized, but they are also challenging to detect and dissect. it is often difficult even to agree whether or not a diagnosis error has occurred.