Learning From Patients’ Experiences Related To Diagnostic Errors Is Essential For Progress In Patient Safety

Diagnostic error research has largely focused on individual clinicians’ decision making and system design, while overlooking information from patients. We analyzed a unique new data source of patient- and family-reported error narratives to explore factors that contribute to diagnostic errors. From reports of adverse medical events submitted in the period January 2010–February 2016, we identified 184 unique patient narratives of diagnostic error. Problems related to patient-physician interactions emerged as major contributors. Our analysis identified 224...