Federal Interagency Workgroup on Improving Diagnostic Safety and Quality in Healthcare

Background

In 2015, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published a report titled Improving Diagnosis in Health Care. This report was a continuation of two previously published reports from the Institute of Medicine: To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century (2001). These reports bring attention to the specific problem of diagnostic errors and their effect on the quality and safety of healthcare.

In Improving Diagnosis, NASEM outlined eight goals to reduce diagnostic error and improve diagnosis. Goal 8 is to provide dedicated funding for research on the diagnostic process and diagnostic errors. A recommendation for meeting this goal is for Federal agencies to develop a coordinated research agenda on the diagnostic process and diagnostic errors and to commit dedicated funding to implementing this research agenda.

Following the NASEM report, Senate Report 115-150 requested that AHRQ convene a cross-agency work group to address the lack of dedicated research into improving medical diagnosis and in particular, diagnostic failures that lead to patient harm. The Federal Interagency Workgroup on Improving Diagnostic Safety and Quality in Healthcare was established in response to the Senate Report.

Members

The Workgroup includes members (PDF, 103 KB) from different operating divisions under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as representatives from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Meetings

• March 1, 2024, Meeting Summary (PDF, 312 KB)
• November 3, 2023, Meeting Summary (PDF, 186 KB) 
• July 14, 2023, Meeting Summary (PDF, 182 KB)
• March 2, 2023, Meeting Summary (PDF, 412 KB)
• November 3, 2022, Meeting Summary (PDF, 163 KB) 
• July 25, 2022, Meeting Summary (PDF, 285 KB)
• March 11, 2022, Meeting Summary (PDF, 188 KB)
• November 19, 2021, Meeting Summary (PDF, 309 KB)
• July 22, 2021, Meeting Summary (PDF, 276 KB).
• March 11, 2021, Meeting Summary (PDF, 106 KB). 
• November 6, 2020, Meeting Summary (PDF, 193 KB). 
• July 23, 2020, Meeting Summary (PDF, 151 KB).
• March 17, 2020, Meeting Summary (PDF, 372 KB).
• November 15, 2019, Meeting Summary (PDF, 76 KB)
• March 8, 2019, Meeting Summary (PDF, 125 KB)