Improving Communication to Enhance Diagnostic Safety
The diagnostic safety toolkit is designed to use anywhere in an organization and with any diagnosis.
Data submitted to the Child Health PSO prompted the toolkit creation when more than half of the reporting children's hospitals noted communication among the care team as a top contributor to diagnostic errors. The Patient Safety Team selected strategies to address communication failures within the diagnostic process based on data and the experiences of subject matter experts and children's hospitals.
Explore all five components of the patient safety toolkit. It's recommended to review your organization's case analysis on the topics of diagnostic safety and communication to determine how to best leverage the tool internally. Use this tool as an opportunity to connect with your care teams, including opportunities with patients and familes to further enhance risk mitigation strategies suggested in the tool.
Patient Safety Alert
Learn the fundamental issues prompting the development of the toolkit.
Case Learning
Recognize key communication vulnerabilities in selected case studies.
Gap Analysis
Assess internal communication gaps to mitigating strategies.
Team Diagnostic Timeout
Conduct a team pause and reevaluate a patient's diagnosis and medical response to treatment.
Additional Resources
Amplify organizational knowledge with industry resources.
This alert is approved for general distribution to improve pediatric safety and reduce patient harm. This alert meets the standards of non-identification in accordance with 3.212 of the Patient Safety Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA) and is a permissible disclosure by Child Health PSO.
In accordance with our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct, this material cannot be used for any commercial transactions that are unrelated to the original intent of Child Health PSO Patient Safety Action Alerts.