Avoiding diagnostic errors in admitting patients to a nursing home

Sometimes the members of the medical profession have been castigated for unpreparedness and shortcomings in the management of nursing home populations because their pre-admission diagnoses often have not agreed with the post-admission evaluations. In contrast, the authors' survey of a local situation revealed a high degree of diagnostic accuracy in admissions to a nursing home. Discussed are appropriate steps that nursing-home admission evaluators can take to ensure the avoidance of errors in the entrance diagnosis.