Carmel Crock

On creating a diagnostic safety program – one eye hospital’s experience

In this presentation we will describe the development of a diagnostic safety program in our hospital.
The program is based on development of clinical practice guidelines, morning handover with cross checking night diagnoses made by trainees, feedback to trainees on their diagnoses from the emergency department to clinic appointment, use of incident monitoring and patient feedback to identify recurrent diagnostic pitfalls and the development of a research program around diagnostic challenges.

Key sentences

• Accurate timely diagnosis is intrinsic to delivering excellence in eye care.
• Uncertainty and ambiguity in diagnosis is often present on initial presentation.
• Designing the diagnostic process for safety is part of developing a diagnostic safety culture.
• Patient understanding of their diagnosis and feedback by patients is crucial.
• Recurrent error traps in eye diagnosis need to be identified and addressed.