Physicians have demonstrated knowledge gaps in accurately diagnosing child maltreatment. This article describes the implementation of a system-wide daily review of patients with concerns of maltreatment, allowing child abuse pediatricians (CAPs) to intervene and address potential errors (e.g., history taking, injury identification, testing for occult injuries, and cognitive analysis) and to identify patients who require immediate intervention. Over a 30-month period, the program identified potential diagnostic errors and safe discharge concerns, many of which led to new or changed diagnoses.

This study described the use of simulation cases to evaluate diagnostic errors of potential child abuse. Overall, 39% of participants made an incorrect diagnosis, with the majority overdiagnosing abuse in patients who were injured in a traumatic accident.