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For many patients with an undetermined condition, the diagnostic process is non-linear. Assessment leads to testing that leads to consults that lead to more assessment and testing—sometimes spread out over weeks or months. As one possible diagnosis is ruled out, the process backs up a step or two or three, and proceeds down an alternate path. With each new interaction between the patient and the system, with each new referral or test result, comes opportunities for breakdowns in the communication of critical information and gaps in the coordination of care across an expanding list of providers.

In outpatient settings, care coordination becomes even more challenging than it is in the confines of a hospital. Patients have to communicate to multiple clinicians, clinicians have to communicate with each other, electronic systems may or may not communicate across platforms. Patients are being asked to be more engaged in their care, but that doesn’t mean they should have to carry the entire burden. An individual who doesn’t feel well, who is anxious to know why, and who has sat in multiple waiting rooms for tests and exams, needs caregivers and health care systems to maintain vigilance throughout an accurate diagnosis and the initiation of a care plan. Physicians—and the other clinicians who see the patient during his or her diagnostic journey—are less vulnerable to errors when they are clear about which individual provider is coordinating the patient’s course. Patients are less vulnerable when the coordinating provider clearly communicates test results, follow-up steps, and (if appropriate) a treatment plan.

Analysis of cases that fall under this stage of the diagnostic process indicate that decisions, documentation, and communication related to consultative support significantly impacts diagnostic success. Well-coordinated care with timely consults and comprehensive communication will most likely raise awareness of unresolved concerns and redirect the cognitive process. On the other hand, even a diagnostic process along the correct path can be impeded or misdirected if the providers responsible for confirming the diagnosis and establishing a care plan fall short or leave issues unresolved and unassigned.

This article is excerpted from the 2014 Annual Benchmarking Report: Malpractice Risk in the Diagnostic Process. You can request a complete copy, for free, here.