Diagnosis is complex and iterative, therefore liable to error in accurately and timely identifying underlying health problems, and communicating these to patients. Up to 15% of diagnoses are estimated to be inaccurate, delayed or wrong. Diagnostic errors negatively impact patient outcomes and increase use of healthcare resources. The direct financial burden of misdiagnosis, underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis combined is estimated to be 17.5% of total healthcare expenditure, or 1.8% of GDP in a typical OECD country where one tenth of GDP is spent on health care. Reducing diagnostic error has the potential for large cost savings through improvements in healthcare efficiency and reductions in patient harm. Halving rates of diagnostic error could lead to savings of 8% of healthcare expenditure. This report 1) defines the scope of diagnostic error, 2) illustrates the burden of diagnostic error in commonly diagnosed conditions, 3) estimates the direct costs of diagnostic error, and 4) provides policy options to improve diagnostic safety.
