The nature, causes, and clinical impact of errors in the clinical laboratory testing process leading to diagnostic error: a voluntary incident report analysis.

Christel van Moll; Toine C G Egberts; Cordula Wagner; Laura Zwaan; Maarten ten Berg

Study

The nature, causes, and clinical impact of errors in the clinical laboratory testing process leading to diagnostic error: a voluntary incident report analysis.

October 25, 2023

van Moll C, Egberts TCG, Wagner C, et al. J Patient Saf. 2023;19(8):573-579.

View more articles from the same authors.

Diagnostic testing errors can contribute to delays in diagnosis and to serious patient harm. Researchers analyzed 327 voluntary incident reports from one medical center in the Netherlands and found that diagnostic testing errors most commonly occurred during the pre-analytic phase (77%), and were predominantly caused by human factors (59%). The researchers found that these diagnostic testing errors contributed to a potential diagnostic error in 60% of cases.

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Hospitals

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Diagnostic Errors

Missed or Critical Lab Results

Institutional Reporting

The nature, causes, and clinical impact of errors in the clinical laboratory testing process leading to diagnostic error: a voluntary incident report analysis.

Catching those who fall through the cracks: integrating a follow-up process for emergency department patients with incidental radiologic findings.

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