Leapfrog Group is launching a nationwide initiative aimed at addressing diagnostic errors in medicine, the patient safety watchdog announced on Thursday.
Fueled by a $1.2 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, their goal is to create a public reporting system and recognize hospitals excelling at preventing harm from misdiagnoses. Leapfrog noted that diagnostic errors are one of the top 10 causes of mortality in the U.S., accounting for upward of 80,000 deaths annually.
Others joining the effort include radiology leader Johns Hopkins and the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine.
“Diagnostic errors are the most common, costly and catastrophic of all medical errors,” Paul Epner, CEO and co-founder of SIDM, said in a statement. “We must do better as a country in assessing diagnostic performance and developing solutions that lead to diagnoses which are accurate, timely and communicated to the patient.
“Recognizing Excellence in Diagnosis” will last two years and kick off by forming an advisory group to pinpoint best practices in producing accurate diagnoses. In the second year, they’ll eventually look to launch a national survey to collect data from up to 100 hospitals and health systems on their efforts and issue a report on the status of diagnostic safety.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.