Outpatient Diagnostic Errors Affect 1 in 20 Adults
A new
study co-funded by AHRQ found that diagnostic errors—missed opportunities to
make a timely or correct diagnosis based on available evidence—occur in about 5
percent of U.S. adults and that about half of those errors could severely harm
patients. The study, “The frequency of diagnostic errors in outpatient care:
estimations from three large observational studies involving U.S. adult
populations,” was published in the April 21 issue of BMJ Quality & Safety.
The study
used data from three previous studies of errors in general primary care
diagnosis, colorectal cancer diagnosis and lung cancer diagnosis. In all three
studies, diagnostic errors were confirmed through rigorous chart review.
Diagnostic errors can harm patients by delaying their treatment. For
example, a delayed or incorrect cancer diagnosis could make the disease
harder to treat or more deadly. The study is significant because it is based on
a large sample size and is the most robust estimate thus far to address the
frequency of diagnostic error in routine outpatient care.
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