Top picks: diagnostic safety

Summary

In this 'Top picks', we've selected a number of key blogs from the hub relating to diagnostic safety. These have been shared with us by patients, healthcare professionals, researchers, third sector organisations and more. The insights captured help show the complexity of diagnostic safety and offer up ways to make improvements to prevent diagnostic delay or error. 

Content

Clink on the titles to access the blogs in full. 

1. Using barcode scanning technology to improve blood group testing in unborn babies

The NHS Blood and Transfusion (NHSBT) and the Scan4Safety Team in the NHS England National Patient Safety Team explore how barcode scanning technology has improved testing for the D blood group in unborn babies. 

2. Pancreatic Cancer: striving for early, fast and accurate diagnosis

Alfie Bailey-Bearfield from Pancreatic Cancer UK, explains the challenges associated with diagnosing pancreatic cancer, why fast and accurate diagnosis is so important, and why increased funding is vital to improving outcomes for patients.  

3. Catching cancer early: what more can we do as GPs?

In this blog, GP, Amelia Randle sets out a number of ways clinicians can develop their daily practice to improve cancer diagnosis at an early stage.

4. Diagnostic errors and delays: why quality investigations are key

Dan Cohen, international consultant in patient safety and clinical risk management, looks at the challenges around diagnostic error and delay, compounded by human factors, cognitive bias and the Covid-19 pandemic. Ending with a case study, he illustrates how high-quality investigations, that delve deeply into human factors and focus less on blame, are key to reducing harm.  

5. Diagnostic safety: accessibility and adaptations– a (un)reasonable adjustment?

Pavi Brar from National Voices, explains why accessibility needs and adaptations must be taken into account and addressed to enable everyone to access diagnostic services. 

6. How early diagnosis saves lives: case study on aortic dissection

The Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust explains why timely and accurate diagnosis of aortic dissection is critical for saving lives. By sharing Martin’s recovery story, they illustrate the positive impact of prompt testing and treatment.

7. Rheumatoid arthritis: would my life be different if I had been diagnosed sooner?

A patient explains how her experiences of pain were dismissed after the birth of her first baby. Although her own research indicated she had rheumatoid arthritis, she had to battle misinformed and unhelpful doctors to get a referral to a specialist. 

8. “Listening to a patient’s history for longer can help doctors make the right diagnosis”

Maria Dahm and Carmel Crock tell us more about their research to explore the relationship between communication and diagnostic accuracy. The findings highlight how critical it is to spend time listening to the patient, and for doctors to communicate uncertainties well. 

9. Digital diagnosis—what the doctor ordered?

Clive Flashman, Patient Safety Learning's Chief Digital Officer, looks at some of these new digital tools that are becoming  increasingly available not only to clinicians but also for patients, and highlights some of the risks that they bring and considerations that need to be thought through.

10. Improving diagnostic safety in surgery: A blog by Anna Paisley

Anna Paisley, a Consultant Upper GI Surgeon, talks about the challenges to safe surgical diagnosis and shares some of the strategies available to mitigate these challenges and aid safer, more timely diagnosis. 

11. Applying a robust approach to digital clinical safety in diagnosis

Ben Jeeves, Associate Chief Clinical Information Officer and Clinical Safety Officer, looks at the digital clinical safety aspects in relation to diagnostic safety.

Share your experiences on the hub

We would welcome your views on improving diagnosis for patient safety.

Are you a patient who has been affected by a delayed, incorrect or missed diagnosis? Or perhaps a healthcare professional with an example of an improvement project that aims to reduce diagnostic error and improve outcomes?

You can share your experience in our community forum (sign up here for free first), submit a blog, or email us at [email protected].

You can also find a number of existing resources, tools and stories relating to diagnosis and patient safety on the hub here.