The processes supporting safe and accurate diagnosis involve many steps that are prone to human error. This collaborative will engage teams to explore test result management and follow-up coordination to improve timeliness, collaboration, and communication to support safe care. The launch of the collaborative has been delayed due to COVID-19.

Examination of diagnostic failure and identification of reduction strategies require multidisciplinary expertise to be successful. This collaborative initiative will initially develop educational materials to inform health care organization adoption of diagnostic improvement best practices. Building on that experience, a survey component to complement the Leapfrog annual survey will be developed to enhance measurement and motivate improvement.

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that harbors a variety of diagnostic, treatment, and management hurdles. This special issue covers a variety of clinical topics including optimal diagnostic methods, near misses, and diagnostic accuracy.   

With input from a stakeholder committee, the National Quality Forum identified recommendations for the practical application of the Diagnostic Process and Outcomes domain of the 2017 Measurement Framework  for measuring and improving diagnostic error and patient safety. The committee developed four ‘use cases’ (missed subtle clinical findings; communication failures; information overload; and dismissed patients) reflecting high priority examples of diagnostic error that can result in patient harm. The report includes comprehensive, broad-scope, actionable, and specific recommendations for implementing quality improvement activities to engage patients, educate clinicians, leverage technology, and support a culture of safety with the goal of reducing diagnostic errors. 

Organizations worldwide are focusing efforts on reducing the conditions that contribute to medical error. This website provides a collection of reports and other resources that cover activities and concerns of the 37 member countries active in the organization to address universal challenges to patient safety.

Patients and families provide unique insights for leaders working to improve diagnosis. This report highlights how organizations can best implement patient advisory council programs to spark learning, enhance feedback, and support a safety culture that enhances the impact of those efforts. 

High reliability attainment is a stated goal for health care organizations. This special issue covers established initiatives at the United States Veterans Health Administration that draw from high reliability principles to improve care. Topics covered include evaluation priorities, safe patient handling and diagnostic safety.

Challenges to effective clinical reasoning reduce diagnostic accuracy. This special issue provides background for a new approach to clinical reasoning: situativity. The articles explore the four complementary facets of the concept -- situated cognition; distributed cognition; embodied cognition; and ecological psychology – and describes how situativity can enhance diagnosis through a holistic approach to education, assessment, and research.