A new coalition has been formulated to address diagnostic errors. The Coalition to Improve Diagnosis, which comprises of medical societies, healthcare organisations, patient and consumer advocates and government partners, will tackle diagnostic errors in medicine to help improve diagnosis. It will be led by the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM), a physician-led nonprofit organisation.
"The Coalition will bring much-needed attention, awareness and action to this issue," Paul Epner, MBA, MEd, chair of the coalition and SIDM executive vice president, said in a news release."Engaging leading healthcare organisations, professional societies and patients is an essential step in improving the quality of care patients receive and in reducing harm that can result from diagnoses that are inaccurate, missed or inappropriately delayed."
Approximately 12 million patients (1 in 20 adults) are misdiagnosed in the U.S. annually. It is thus obvious that this is a system-wide problem that has not received enough attention as pointed out by the SIDM. While physicians generally excel in diagnosis, any errors or delays in reaching the right diagnosis has the potential to cause significant harm. The vision of the Society as explained by Mark Mark L. Graber, MD, SIDM president and founder, is to ensure accurate, timely and efficient diagnosis. The Coalition to Improve Diagnosis will act as a catalyst for changes in practice and will further help realise this vision.
Some of the organisations included in this Coalition are American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Medical Specialties, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Society for Healthcare Risk Management, Consumers Advancing Patient Safety, The Leapfrog Group, National Patient Safety Foundation and the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine.The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are also supporting the coalition.
All participating organisations are committed to taking measurable action to improve diagnosis through the collective action of the new Coalition.
Source: Medscape
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
