Susan L. Montminy and Marlene Icenhower are health care executives.

Why diagnostic error is high in offices

Conditions and Diseases
November 28, 2025

The National Academy of Medicine defines diagnostic error as “the failure to (a) establish an accurate and timely explanation of the patient’s health problem(s) or (b) communicate that explanation to the patient.” Office-based practices are the predominant setting for malpractice claims related to diagnostic error.

Yes, office-based care settings.

Fast-paced, high-acuity emergency departments (EDs) have fewer malpractice claims related to diagnostic error than physician offices, according to recent research. Furthermore, 53 …

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Why diagnostic error is high in offices

Solving a hidden challenge: 10 tips to reduce diagnostic error in the emergency department

Conditions and Diseases
February 17, 2025

Diagnostic error is a difficult issue to track in the emergency department (ED). For a good reason, too: The patient population is so transient it’s difficult to detect a “missed” diagnosis. It’s less readily apparent than medication errors, falls, and other commonly reported incidents.

But that’s precisely what makes diagnostic error such an insidious problem.

Recent research into malpractice claims over a five-year period suggests that 28 percent of all diagnostic error …

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Solving a hidden challenge: 10 tips to reduce diagnostic error in the emergency department

8 tips to engage patients, improve outcomes, and increase provider satisfaction

Conditions and Diseases
December 14, 2023

The media is full of stories about providers’ influence on the patient experience. Less common are articles about how patient engagement influences provider satisfaction—and the vicious cycle generated by lack of patient engagement, provider dissatisfaction, and poor outcomes.

Consider these statistics:

8 tips to engage patients, improve outcomes, and increase provider satisfaction