Exhibit 1:
Characteristics of patients who experienced a diagnostic error
| Characteristic | Number (percent) |
|---|---|
| Age, mean (years) | 52.4 |
| Sex | |
| Female | 125 (67.9) |
| Male | 59 (32.1) |
| Setting of reported error | |
| Hospital | 147 (79.9) |
| Emergency department | 29 (15.8) |
| Outpatient | 46 (25.0) |
| Other | 33 (17.9) |
| Type of diagnostic error | |
| Delay in diagnosis or treatment | 140 (76.1) |
| Misdiagnosis | 120 (65.2) |
| Proper tests not ordered | 89 (48.4) |
| Test results lost, misplaced, or disregarded | 33 (17.9) |
| Laboratory or pathology error | 13 (7.1) |
| Types of nondiagnostic errora | |
| Adverse medication event | 103 (56.0) |
| Surgical or procedure-related error | 100 (54.3) |
| Hospital-acquired infection | 85 (46.2) |
SOURCE Authors’ analysis of 184 patient narratives reported via Survey Monkey on the Empowered Patient Coalition website, 2010–16. NOTE Participants were able to select more than one category of response for some characteristics, so categories may add up to more than 184.
a
Experienced by patients that had diagnostic errors.