Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsâ€"has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of Improving Diagnosis in Health Care contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety.

'Medical technology is beneficial for well researched dangerous diseases. However, most symptoms that people bring to their primary care physician have no single clearly identifiable cause: investigations and drugs do more harm than good - and also waste resources - ' - Wilfrid Treasure Diagnosis and Risk Management in Primary Care teaches that adopting an evidence-based approach to primary care improves patient care and treatment outcomes. It demonstrates that brief clinical assessments, repeated if necessary, allow effective diagnosis while avoiding the costs and complications associated with more advanced testing. Adopting a fresh approach, this book sets consultation skills alongside evidence-based information by both itemising the specific techniques and facts that are needed in the consulting room, and providing detailed information on odds and likelihood ratios to quantify risk and deal with uncertainty. This book provides food for thought, and helps doctors develop communication skills that support their personal styles of consulting, encouraging a more traditional, intuitive treatment. It provides a map of the consultation and a compass to navigate through symptoms, signs and evidence - listening to their patients with one ear and, with the other, to the reflective inner voice of reason. General Practitioner Specialist Trainees and their teachers will find much of interest, as will established General Practitioners with an interest in maintaining traditional models of care. Undergraduate medical students and candidates for the MRCGP will find this an ideal reader for the clinical skills assessment. 'What a breath of fresh air to find an author capable of putting the patient back at the centre of the consultation and who is able to entertain at the same time as he informs and to stimulate critical reflection while nudging us in the direction of a rigorous approach to diagnosis, and the assessment and communication of risk.' From the foreword by Roger Jones

Formulating a diagnosis purely on the basis of clinical judgement can be fraught with difficulty and danger, yet this is the challenge faced every day by Primary Care physicians, who rarely have access to the diagnostic tools available to hospital-based colleagues. Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care has been specifically written with the needs of the Primary Care physician in mind. It examines the potential causes of common presentations and aims to help the physician differentiate between diseases, using history and examination alone. Diseases are listed in descending order of prevalence, with the commonest causes first, while high-risk conditions are highlighted to ensure they are not overlooked. Its unique tabulated format ensures key information is easily accessible, and the user-friendly format ensures the book can be used during consultations, home visits, and on ward rounds. Whether used by the undergraduate, postgraduate trainee or the experienced Primary Care physician, Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care is an invaluable tool designed to improve the reader's ability to diagnose on the basis of clinical judgement alone.

v. 1. Research findings -- v. 2. Concepts and methodology -- v. 3. Implementation issues -- v. 4. Programs, tools and products.

Implementing safety practices in healthcare saves lives and improves the quality of care: it is therefore vital to apply good clinical practices, such as the WHO surgical checklist, to adopt the most appropriate measures for the prevention of assistance-related risks, and to identify the potential ones using tools such as reporting & learning systems. The culture of safety in the care environment and of human factors influencing it should be developed from the beginning of medical studies and in the first years of professional practice, in order to have the maximum impact on clinicians' and nurses' behavior. Medical errors tend to vary with the level of proficiency and experience, and this must be taken into account in adverse events prevention. Human factors assume a decisive importance in resilient organizations, and an understanding of risk control and containment is fundamental for all medical and surgical specialties. This open access book offers recommendations and examples of how to improve patient safety by changing practices, introducing organizational and technological innovations, and creating effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable care systems, in order to spread the quality and patient safety culture among the new generation of healthcare professionals, and is intended for residents and young professionals in different clinical specialties.

This new manual offers readers valuable practice in analyzing data and making effective clinical decisions. First, a section on Clinical Data explores the decision-making process, the health history, the physical examination, diagnostic tests, and herbal therapies. Next, abundant case studies cover a variety of disorders in every body system. A final section on Documentation as a Communication Tool explains how to document care successfully.

This easy-to-use reference helps practitioners quickly diagnose common skin disorders and determine appropriate treatment options. More than 500 fullcolor images speed diagnosis by showing the reader distinguishing characteristics of each disorder, as well as providing clear comparisons between similar looking conditions. Features of the text include fornulary tables of leading topical agents and preparations by brand name, as well as patient handouts in English and Spanish. Basic derm rologic procedures are presented in a simple, easyto-understand format, making this guide an invaluable reference for office surgery. The Second Edition features new, larger photos, more patient handouts, and new material on several disorders. Also included is an expanded basic procedures section with new and more detailed procedures and more illustrations and photos of necessary equipment.