Using patient experience surveys to identify potential diagnostic safety breakdowns: a mixed methods study.

Patient surveys are an underutilized source of patient-reported diagnostic errors. In this study, the free text of ambulatory patient experience surveys was coded as negative, neutral, or positive. The negative text was further analyzed for references to diagnostic breakdowns. Nearly one-quarter of respondents reported experiencing a diagnostic breakdown. Patients who gave a low score on the survey were more likely to report a diagnostic breakdown in the free text. Practices may wish to review patient experience surveys with low scores to assess for diagnostic breakdowns.