Diagnostic trajectories in primary care at 12 months: an observational cohort study (4 May 2022)

Summary

This study in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety aimed to investigate factors affecting length of time to diagnosis in primary care in the USA.

The authors found that patients presenting with new or unresolved problems in ambulatory primary care often remain undiagnosed after a year. There were no provider or patient-level variables associated with lack of diagnosis and further research is needed into the causes and consequences of lack of timely diagnosis.