Results of a hospital survey on critical values communication

Topics

• Factors that promote diagnostic quality and safety
• Clinical reasoning
• Diagnostic errors in medicine
• The factors that contribute to diagnostic error: human factors, cognitive issues, and system-related breakdowns
• Improving the value of diagnosis – eliminating waste and unnecessary testing
• How culture and removing blame promote awareness of diagnostic errors
• Training and education related to clinical reasoning and diagnostic skills
• Advances in laboratory testing and imaging that improve diagnostic capability
• Local, national and international initiatives to reduce diagnostic error

Article formats

• Research Reports – Reports of original research
• Short Communications – Reports of early research results and pilot studies
• Reviews – Systematic, narrative, and focused reviews. Review articles are normally published by invitation, but suggestions to the Editors are welcome
• Opinion Papers and Editorials
• Letters to the Editor
• Point/Counterpoint Papers
• Guidelines and Recommendations
• Innovations in diagnostic testing – Advances in laboratory testing or diagnostic imaging are appropriate subjects, or evaluations of recent innovations
• Case Reports – Learning from Tragedy – Case reports of diagnostic error or dilemma discussed from a multi-stakeholder perspective; should include the facts of the case, a discussion focused on a root cause analysis, take-away points or action items resulting from the analysis, and whenever possible input from both the affected patients and their providers
• Case Reports – Lessons in Clinical Reasoning: Pitfalls, Myths, and Pearls – Case reports in which a clinician discusses their diagnostic approach after clinical information is presented, focusing on a case in which a diagnostic error (or near miss = great catch) occurred
• Patient-Focused Articles – Papers in this category should be written in lay language on a topic of interest to the patient stakeholder community
• Diagnosis in the News – Brief reports of news-worthy advances in diagnosis, or problems involving diagnostic error