Rationale: The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM) uses the Diagnostic Error in Medicine (DEM) Conference (?the Conference?) as a means to increase understanding of the diagnostic process. The Conference facilitates the dissemination and implementation of interventions and strategies that improve the quality of diagnosis.
The aims of the Conference are to: 1. Increase the visibility and public awareness of diagnostic error; 2. Showcase the best research on diagnosis, promote collaboration and expand the community of diagnosis researchers; 3. Develop tools and models to incorporate diagnostic quality and safety into medical schools and healthcare professional training; 4. Exhibit innovations for improving diagnostic performance in the clinical setting; 5. Grow a community of patients as thought leaders in diagnostic safety, and integrate patients into all efforts to improve diagnosis, including research, education, practice improvement, outreach and awareness. Previous Conferences and Impact: Through its sponsorship of the DEM conferences, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has been instrumental in bringing the previously neglected topic of diagnostic error into a prominent position in the patient safety world. The conference content has successfully been disseminated through the publication of the conference proceedings and key papers in journals including Advances in Health Science Education, BMJ Quality and Safety, and the journal DIAGNOSIS. In addition, output from the prior conferences served as the basis for the research recommendations in the Institute of Medicine?s landmark report, Improving Diagnosis in Health Care. Conference Plan: The 2020 DEM Conference will be held on October 18-20, at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center. The working theme is ?Improving Diagnosis through Education.? The Conference will be a 2.5-day meeting, with ancillary meetings, pre-courses and invitational summits scheduled around the core Conference. It is expected the 2021 and 2022 conferences will follow the same construct as the 2020 conference. Impact/ Deliverables: It is expected that approximately 450 individuals will attend the 2020 conference, with representation of multiple disciplines including cognitive science, health services research, clinical medicine, medical education, patient advocacy, health information technology and risk management. The conferences will provide an opportunity to promote the development and dissemination of initiatives and strategies designed to reduce diagnostic errors and their impact on patients.
The Diagnostic Error in Medicine Conference is a multi-disciplinary meeting for healthcare professionals and patients interested in diagnostic quality and safety. It features quality improvement, academic research, medical education and patient engagement strategies that improve diagnostic outcomes.
