Reducing Harm to Patients from Diagnostic Errors

Weiss, Eta

Abstract

The ultimate goal of this conference is to improve patient safety by reducing the likelihood of diagnostic error in medicine. We will focus on disseminating research results and developing a research and education agenda in the area of reducing harm to patients from diagnostic errors. Diagnostic errors are increasingly recognized as a serious contributor to downstream patient safety problems by the academic, clinical, and lay communities. Diagnostic errors and the means to address them relate to many of AHRQ's priorities, including the focus on ambulatory care, medical errors, patient safety, and health information technology. Our conference is the first to bring together researchers, clinicians and patients to focus specifically on this topic. ? ? This conference will be held on October 19-20, 2007 in Pittsburgh, PA, immediately prior to the Annual Meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making, and will allow joint registration for the two meetings and capitalize on the common interests of attendees at both meetings. ? ? The conference sessions will cover (1) research on a variety of approaches to clinical reasoning, (2) the impact of diagnostic errors in a variety of settings including ambulatory, emergency rooms, and hospitals and strategies to reduce those errors (3) the use of technologies to reduce diagnostic errors (e.g. clinical decision support, cognitive systems engineering), and (4) challenges to research and education in this area. The speakers will be nationally and internationally recognized researchers and practicing physicians from multiple backgrounds and perspectives and we are also proposing a panel of patients who have experienced diagnostic errors to bring the patient's perspective as well. ? ? The conference planning committee convened in person in December, 2006 in Naples, FL and has been communicating electronically since that time. The outcome from the Naples meeting has been accepted as a special supplement in the American Journal of Medicine. To leverage AHRQ funding, additional support will be provided by registration fees, vendors, non-profit organizations and in-kind logistic support from the Society for Medical Decision Making. ? ? ?