Differential diagnosis checklists reduce diagnostic error differentially: a randomised experiment.

Checklists are increasingly used to improve diagnosis by supporting clinical decision making and ensuring that all possible diagnoses are considered. This study explored the effect of a prompt to generate alternative diagnoses versus a differential diagnosis checklist on diagnostic accuracy among medical students completing computer-generated patient cases. The researchers found that the checklist improved diagnostic accuracy compared to a prompt, but only if the checklist included the correct diagnosis; if the correct diagnosis was not included on the checklist, diagnostic accuracy was slightly reduced.