Empowering Women Heart Patients

Coalition to Improve Diagnosis member WomenHeart discusses empowering and training women heart patients to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses in our June issue of ACT Update.

Read ACT Update

Testing oversight

After finding a small lump on her breast, Sandra Kaus completed a mammogram and was told if she did not hear back, all was well. One year later, she would face a devastating delayed diagnosis caused by an initial testing oversight.

Sandra's Story

2020-2021 Fellows in Diagnostic
Excellence Announced

SIDM is proud to announce seven new Fellows in Diagnostic Excellence. The 2020-2021 awardees will work on innovative projects focused on improving diagnostic quality and safety.

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Post-surgery discovery

After giving birth to twins and undergoing a hysterectomy, Sarah Kiehl experienced large amounts of drainage from the surgical site. While she was assured this was normal, Sarah was actually showing initial signs of sepsis.

Sarah's Story

COVID-19 Gives Telemedicine a Larger Role in Diagnosis

Telemedicine has long been poised to play a larger role in healthcare delivery. For years it was held back by a logjam of entrenched habits and interests that has now been freed by COVID-19.

Read the ImproveDx Newsletter
Telehealth

One in 10 Patients with a ‘Big Three’
Disease Misdiagnosed

One in 10 people (9.6%) with symptoms caused by a major vascular event, infection, or cancer will be misdiagnosed, according to a study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and CRICO Strategies.

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There Are Flaws in Our Nation's
Diagnostic Capabilities

Diagnostic errors are not unique to COVID-19. Now is the time to improve diagnostic accuracy. Read more about the diagnostic lessons we can learn in a new article by SIDM CEO Paul L. Epner published in The Hill.

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Coalition Members Respond to COVID-19

Many of our Coalition to Improve Diagnosis members are on the front lines working diligently to test and diagnose patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to provide timely and useful information regarding COVID-19, our members have developed a wide range of resources, including toolkits, live chats, webinars, community groups and more.

Resources

Why the Color of Your Skin Can Affect Your Diagnosis

When we are in need of medical attention, we come expecting to be helped by experts with care. Patients of color in America have learned to check their expectations at the door and replace them with unanchored hope.

Read the Dx IQ Column

COVID-19

SIDM shares concerns about the global threat of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As with any disease, reaching a timely and accurate explanation of a patient’s symptoms is critical to achieving the outcomes that matter to patients. For information about coronavirus and direction on what clinicians and the general public should do, please see guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local public health authorities.

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Creating a world where no patients are harmed by diagnostic error.

SIDM catalyzes and leads change to improve diagnosis and eliminate harm from diagnostic error, in partnership with patients, their families, the healthcare community and every interested stakeholder.

Support Our Mission

Patients

Patients and family members have a significant opportunity to contribute to diagnostic accuracy and timeliness by actively participating in the diagnostic process. But often, they don't know the questions to ask, the information to offer, or the steps to take to improve diagnosis.

Resources

Clinical Teams

Every member of the clinical team has a role to play in ensuring that diagnoses are accurate, timely and communicated to the patient. SIDM offers resources for clinical team members to improve cognitive skills and work within their health systems to improve the diagnostic process.

Resources

Medical Educators

Improving diagnosis requires continued investment in medical education, leveraging trainees, practitioners, and educators to address gaps in the system and focus on the teams that contribute to accurate and timely diagnostics. SIDM's resources for medical educators examine clinical reasoning and system factors that underlie diagnostic error, and offer tools and strategies to to bring diagnostic quality and safety into the medical education curriculum.

Resources

Researchers

Whether you're an established researcher or just joining the diagnostic error research community, SIDM offers a variety of resources to help advance research efforts in the field. Explore existing literature, engage with your peers, and join the conversation as we work to foster the growth of the research community.

Resources

Advocacy

Despite the fact that diagnostic error likely accounts for more patient harm than all other medical errors combined, federal investment in research to improve diagnosis amounts to about $7 million per year, or just .02% of the total $35 billion federal health research budget. Learn how you can support efforts to expand funding for research.

Resources

1 in 3

One-third of malpractice cases that result in death or permanent disability stem from an inaccurate or delayed diagnosis, making it the number one cause of serious harms among medical errors.

*Research published in Diagnosis

 

Diagnostic errors affect an estimated 12 million Americans each year, and likely cause more harm to patients than all other medical errors combined.

*Research published in BMJ Quality & Safety

Roughly 40,000‐80,000 deaths in U.S. hospitals each year can be attributed to diagnostic error. It’s about the same number of people who die annually from breast cancer or diabetes.

*From Improving Diagnosis in Health Care

Programs & Initiatives

Explore how we're helping improve the accuracy and timeliness of diagnosis.

Transforming Medical Education

With support from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, SIDM led a three year Consensus Curriculum project to define the key interprofessional competencies required for diagnostic quality and safety.

Consensus Curriculum

Collaborating to Improve Diagnosis

The Coalition to Improve Diagnosis is comprised of 50+ healthcare organizations working to find solutions that enhance diagnostic quality and safety, reduce harm and ultimately, ensure better health outcomes for patients.

Coalition to Improve Diagnosis

Closing the Loop on Diagnostic Error

A new collaborative between Constellation and SIDM focuses on improving the diagnostic process during two of the three key stages of the diagnostic process; tests and results processing and follow-up and coordination.

Performance Improvement

In the News

Doug Salvador and Ann Gaffey

SIDM Announces New Board Members

SIDM is proud to announce that Doug Salvador, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School- Baystate and Ann Gaffey, RN, MSN, CPHRM, DFASHRM, President, Healthcare Risk and Safety Strategies, LLC have joined the SIDM Board of Directors.

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WEBINAR man hand on table Business, coffee, Split tone

Journal Club Session: Prevalence of Harmful Diagnostic Errors in Hospitalised Adults

Join us for our next Journal Club session on July 14, 2020 at 3:00 pm ET where Craig Gunderson, MD, FHM will discuss his article, "Prevalence of Harmful Diagnostic Errors in Hospitalised Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis."

Register Now

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Empowering Women Heart Patients

Coalition to Improve Diagnosis member WomenHeart discusses empowering and training women heart patients to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses in our June issue of ACT Update.

Read More

fellows collage

2020-2021 Fellows in Diagnostic Excellence Announced

The 2020-2021 Fellowship in Diagnostic Excellence awardees will work on innovative projects focused on improving diagnostic quality and safety. Meet the seven new fellows and learn about their research focus areas.

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DEM conference attendee

Patient Safety Leader Gordon Schiff, MD receives John M. Eisenberg Award

We are proud to announce that Gordon Schiff, MD is the recipient of the 2019 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for Individual Achievement from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum.

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Why the Color of Your Skin Can Affect the Quality of Your Diagnosis

If you are a patient of color, especially if you’re of African ancestry, your chances of misdiagnosis are greater than white patients’, and you have higher odds of suffering greater harm from diagnostic errors.

Learn More

DxQI Seed Grant Program

SIDM has established the DxQI Seed Grant Program to engage healthcare organizations in efforts to identify, develop, and test interventions aimed at improving diagnostic quality and reducing harm from diagnostic error.

Learn More

Join the Online Community

Become a part of SIDM's online community and
start conversations, discover resources, and network with your peers.

Join the Community