Table 3.
Cognitive and Logistical Breakdowns in Diagnosis of Breast and Colon Cancer by Clinical Activity
| Care phase | Clinical activity | Cases in which activity took place | Cases with cognitive error identified during activity | Cases with logistical breakdown identified during activity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | n | % | n | % | ||
| Office visit | Overall | 56 | 34 | 61 | 24 | 43 |
| History taking | 56 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | |
| Physical exam | 55 | 14 | 25 | 1 | 2 | |
| Data review | 51 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 25 | |
| Determine diagnostic strategy | 56 | 25 | 45 | n/a | n/a | |
| Arrange for follow-up with pcp | 29 | 9 | 31 | 8 | 28 | |
| Arrange for follow-up with specialist | 27 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 26 | |
| Order diagnostic test | 56 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 18 | |
| Diagnostic testing | Overall | 56 | 22 | 39 | 11 | 20 |
| Performance of test | 56 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | |
| Generation of test result report | 56 | 20 | 36 | 8 | 14 | |
| Interpretation of test results | Overall | 56 | 27 | 48 | 9 | 16 |
| Determine post-test diagnostic strategy | 50 | 22 | 44 | n/a | n/a | |
| Arrange for follow-up with pcp | 27 | 6 | 22 | 2 | 7 | |
| Arrange for follow-up with specialist | 39 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | |
| Order further diagnostic test | 11 | 2 | 18 | 5 | 45 | |
| Any care phases | 56 | 53 | 95 | 31 | 55 | |