Understanding Diagnostic Safety Events and Diagnostic Error: New AHRQ Resource Helps Identify Potentially Missed Diagnoses

https://qualityindicators.ahrq.gov/resources/diagnostic_excellence AHRQ has released a new diagnostic excellence resource to help health systems, researchers, and other users identify potential missed opportunities for diagnosis at a population level. The Symptom–Disease Pair Analysis (SPADE) Tool provides a standardized way to examine diagnostic processes using routinely available claims data. The initial release focuses on stroke and heart attack, allowing users to estimate how often hospital admissions for these conditions occur shortly after emergency department visits for related symptoms, or how often such admissions were preceded by those visits. The tool does not require access to electronic health records and includes clear specifications and user guidance to support implementation. It can also be adapted to other symptom–disease pairs for local quality improvement and research.