Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Reducing diagnostic errors in medicine: what's the goal?

Mark Graber1, Ruthanna Gordon, Nancy Franklin

  • 1VA Medical Center, Northport, New York 11768, USA.

Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
|October 16, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Diagnostic errors in medicine, including no-fault, system, and cognitive types, can be significantly reduced but never fully eliminated due to inherent complexities in disease presentation and healthcare systems.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Diagnostic Excellence, Imaging Stewardship, and Re-establishing the Value Proposition in Radiology: A Look Back and a Way Forward.

Cureus·2026
Same author

How insight contributes to diagnostic excellence.

Diagnosis (Berlin, Germany)·2022
Same author

Anger Increases Susceptibility to Misinformation.

Experimental psychology·2020
Same author

Evidence That Nurses Need to Participate in Diagnosis: Lessons From Malpractice Claims.

Journal of patient safety·2020
Same author

What interventions could reduce diagnostic error in emergency departments? A review of evidence, practice and consumer perspectives.

Diagnosis (Berlin, Germany)·2019
Same author

Multiple Risk Factor Counseling to Promote Heart-healthy Lifestyles in the Chest Pain Observation Unit: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine·2017

Area of Science:

  • Medical error analysis
  • Diagnostic accuracy research
  • Healthcare systems improvement

Background:

  • Diagnostic errors are a significant concern in medicine, categorized into no-fault, system, and cognitive types.
  • No-fault errors arise from disease presentation, while system errors stem from healthcare imperfections, and cognitive errors result from flawed reasoning or data interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the feasibility of reducing or eliminating the three major categories of diagnostic errors.
  • To explore the inherent limitations and persistent nature of diagnostic errors in medical practice.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and conceptual analysis of diagnostic error categories.
  • Examination of factors contributing to no-fault, system, and cognitive errors.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Discussion of strategies for mitigating diagnostic errors.

    • Main Results:

    • No-fault errors will decline with medical advancement but persist due to emergent diseases and test imperfections.
    • System errors can be reduced through improvements but are perpetual due to lag, degradation, and resource tradeoffs.
    • Cognitive errors are persistent due to human processing limitations and biases, though awareness and system support can help.

    Conclusions:

    • Diagnostic errors, while substantial, can be significantly reduced through targeted interventions.
    • Complete eradication of diagnostic errors is not feasible due to inherent complexities and necessary fallibility in medical diagnosis.