An Interesting Report

In a HealthLeaders report they note a CONVERYS report on misdiagnosis which states:

The report from the medical liability insurer analyzed more than 10,500 closed medical liability claims from 2013-2017 and found that:

• Diagnosis-related events are the single-largest root cause of liability claims. The 3,466 closed claims with diagnosis-related allegations from 2013-2017 account for 33% of all claims and 47% of indemnity payments.
   
• 35% of diagnostic errors occur in non-emergency department outpatient settings, such as physicians’ offices.
   
• 33% of diagnosis-related claims allege the decision-making breakdown happened as a result of a failure during the patient evaluation.
   
• The four phases of testing -- ordering, performance, receipt/transmittal, and interpretation―account for 52% of diagnosis-related claims.
   
• Among diagnostic failure claims, the largest number of cases involve a missed or delayed diagnosis of cancer, especially breast, lung, colorectal and prostate cancers.
   
• Of the claims that cited an EHR issue, 58% had an injury severity considered high―a category that includes death.

 I find the issue of cancer misdiagnosis as a concern. PSA testing has been down played and even breast testing has been somewhat lowered.