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Autopsy data from the past few decades reveal diagnostic error rates of 10% to 15% but do not inform us about the causes of these errors. Absent extraordinary surveillance of the clinical process, only reporting by clinicians who have committed or observed errors can tell us about what goes wrong and why.
Researchers recruited U.S. physicians by mail and at meetings and asked them to anonymously report three cases of diagnostic errors (their own cases or those of close associates) and to fill out a questionnaire describing the error, the contributing factors, the seriousness of its clinical impact, and the correct diagnosis. Overall, 283 respondents from 22 institutions in 6 states reported 583 cases that were deemed suitable for study.
The s…