Getting an accurate diagnosis stands as a cornerstone of effective health care, serving as the essential guide for understanding a patient’s health issues and shaping crucial treatment decisions. The diagnostic journey is intricate, demanding collaboration, sharp clinical reasoning, and thorough information gathering to pinpoint a patient’s health problem effectively. Yet, as highlighted in “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care,” diagnostic errors—defined as inaccurate or delayed diagnoses—persist across all healthcare settings, causing harm to a significant number of individuals. It’s highly probable that most people will face at least one diagnostic error during their lifetime, sometimes with severe repercussions.
Diagnostic errors can negatively impact patient health by delaying or preventing necessary treatment, administering harmful or unnecessary interventions, and leading to psychological or financial burdens. Recognizing the gravity of this issue, the committee behind “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care” emphasizes that enhancing the diagnostic process is not just feasible but also a moral, professional, and critical public health priority.
“Improving Diagnosis in Health Care” builds upon the groundbreaking Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), underscoring that diagnosis, and particularly diagnostic errors, has been largely overlooked in broader efforts to elevate health care quality and safety. Without a dedicated focus on refining diagnosis, the problem of diagnostic errors is likely to intensify as health care delivery and diagnostic processes become increasingly complex. Just as diagnosis is a team effort, improving it requires widespread collaboration and a firm commitment to change among healthcare professionals, health organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policymakers. The recommendations within Improving Diagnosis in Health Care are a vital contribution to the growing movement aimed at transforming this critical area of health care quality and safety, offering a roadmap for a future with fewer diagnostic missteps and safer patient care.
