Clinician-identified problems and solutions for delayed diagnosis in primary care: a PRIORITIZE study. | AHRQ Patient Safety Network

Clinician-identified problems and solutions for delayed diagnosis in primary care: a PRIORITIZE study. | AHRQ Patient Safety Network

• Study
 
• Published September 2016

Clinician-identified problems and solutions for delayed diagnosis in primary care: a PRIORITIZE study.

Tudor Car L, Papachristou N, Bull A, et al. BMC Fam Pract. 2016;17:131.

Compared with other patient safety issues, diagnostic errors have received little attention until recently. Missed or delayed diagnoses are a common reason for malpractice claims. This study sought to determine barriers and solutions to delays in diagnosis in primary care. Investigators sent a questionnaire to more than 500 clinicians and received 113 responses. Participants identified 33 discrete problems associated with delays in diagnosis and suggested 27 solutions. The main issues included inability to meet patients' care needs and inadequate communication between secondary and primary care. The top solutions included improving training of primary care doctors and enhancing communication among providers as well as between providers and patients, especially around test results. An Annual Perspectivediscussed diagnostic errors in more detail.

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