Good listening crucial to proper diagnosis

Patients with limited health literacy or low socioeconomic status who experienced a diagnostic error were most likely to cite poor communication with their health provider as a contributing factor, according to a study funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Researchers surveyed nearly 600 people who reported experiencing a medical error caused by a delayed, missed or incorrect diagnosis. The most common contributing factor, reported by more than two thirds of participants, was “health care providers not listening to the patient.” A separate AHRQ issue brief outlines ways to improve diagnostic competencies in nurses and other clinicians. (AHRQ News Now article, 3/17/22)