The Opportunity

Accurately diagnosing a patient’s condition is a foundational step in delivering high quality care. An error in diagnosis can significantly impact patient outcomes and result in protracted timelines for care, including unnecessary and potentially harmful services. A 2015 Institute of Medicine report found that “most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences.”

There is a critical need to strengthen the quality and accuracy of the diagnostic process, and to do so will require reliable measurement of diagnostic excellence. Diagnostic excellence refers to both the timeliness and accuracy of diagnoses. Despite numerous attempts over the past decade to improve diagnosis, measurement of diagnostic excellence has proved an intractable challenge

About the Project

To strengthen the diagnostic process, we must develop solutions to overcome the persistent real-world obstacles restraining effective implementation of high-impact measures of diagnostic excellence. NQF will convene various multistakeholder groups, including an Advancing Measurement of Diagnostic Excellence Committee, Artificial Intelligence in Quality Measures Technical Expert Panel (TEP), and ad-hoc subcommittees to confront measurement challenges and recommend solutions. The groups will convene for a series of in-person and virtual meetings. This project is made possible through funding by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact the project team at DxExcellence@qualityforum.org.