Diagnostic Time Out: BWH

Diagnostic errors are diagnoses that are missed, incorrect, and delayed, and may result in preventable harm. The Diagnostic Time-Out app was created by Brigham and Women's hospital's Patient Safety Learning Lab. It is a tool that clinicians can use to identify and address potential cases of diagnostic error. The Diagnostic Time-Out will encourage physicians to reevaluate the evidence at hand and reengage the entire diagnostic team, including the patient, in the diagnostic process. Calling a diagnostic time out is a quick and structured way to reconsider an uncertain diagnosis.

Features of the app also include: a list of potential predictors of diagnostic errors, a list of common cognitive biases to consider during the diagnostic process, links to outside resources such as Dxplain, and a tutorial video on how the diagnostic time-out plays out in the inpatient setting.