Children ' s Hospital Colorado is going where few American hospitals dare : the largely unexplored world of diagnostic error .
In this uncharted territory , there are no guidelines to fix the problem . There is little data , and hospitals are really only beginning to understand it .
But it ’ s a place the hospital absolutely must go if it is to ever approach its goal of harming zero patients , says Dan Hyman , MD , MMM , Chief Medical and Patient Safety Officer at Children ’ s Colorado .
The root of the problem is , for now , intangible . How do you define diagnostic errors ? How do you even find them ? How do you structure a speculative process that can ’ t really be automated ?
So unexplored is this territory that no one even knows exactly how many misdiagnoses occur — just that it happens often .
Dr . Hyman and several faculty colleagues at the University of Colorado School of Medicine are leading the initiative based on a hypothesis : By understanding our cognitive biases , we can help each other “ think slowly ” and , when necessary , consider other diagnoses . By attempting to create a roadmap to effectively reduce diagnostic errors , Children ’ s Colorado is committing to this new initiative — despite the uncertainty that it will produce results .
“ This to me is the next critical transformational strategy ,” Dr . Hyman says . “ If we can understand and then reduce the amount of diagnostic error , we ’ ll have really changed preventable harm .”
LONGTERM PROGRESS ( LAST 3-5 YEARS )
50 %
REDUCTION IN CENTRAL LINE ASSOCIATED-BLOOD STREAM INFECTIONS
50 %
REDUCTION IN PRESSURE INJURIES
50 %
REDUCTION IN PATIENT IDENTIFICATION ERRORS
75 %
REDUCTION IN SURGICAL SITE INFECTIONS
3
IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS , CHILDREN ’ S COLORADO FURTHER REDUCED HOSPITAL- ACQUIRED CONDITIONS BY 15 + PERCENT .