New AHRQ-Funded Toolkit Helps Pediatric Primary Care Providers Avoid Potential Diagnostic Errors

New AHRQ-Funded Toolkit Helps Pediatric Primary Care Providers Avoid Potential Diagnostic Errors

Patient Safety Bulletin

New AHRQ-Funded Toolkit Helps Pediatric Primary Care Providers Avoid Potential Diagnostic Errors

A new AHRQ-funded toolkit to help pediatric primary care providers avoid potential diagnostic errors is now available.  The Reducing Diagnostic Errors in Primary Care Pediatrics toolkit was developed as part of project that tracked diagnostic error rates and used best practices for diagnosing depression, elevated blood pressure, and actionable laboratory results in children and adolescents. These conditions are widely misdiagnosed in pediatric primary care, with elevated blood pressure and adolescent depression misdiagnosed in nearly three-fourths of cases. Throughout the project, more than 100 primary care physicians in 30 practices around the nation used a wide range of tools and resources to implement best practices for the measurement, screening, recognition, diagnosis, follow-up, and reduction of diagnostic errors in pediatric patients. The new toolkit contains tools and resources, including videos, to assist primary care practice teams with a systematic approach to reducing diagnostic errors and improving care for children.