Were My Diagnosis and Treatment Correct? No News is Not Necessarily Good News

Excerpt

In a recent report, the American Medical Association (AMA) concluded, “we still know very little about patient safety in the ambulatory setting, and next to nothing about how to improve it.”1 Research on patient safety has highlighted the prevalence of poor follow-up after patient–provider encounters. Suboptimal follow-up may be associated with adverse events and poor patient outcomes.2 ^– 5 Ensuring timely patient follow-up is essential when a diagnosis or treatment plan is uncertain, or when there is a specific need to closely monitor a patient’s condition. Additionally, when the initial diagnosis is incorrect or initial management misguided, prompt follow-up is often the only way the error can be recognized and corrected.2 ^– 4 ^, 6 Despite the importance of close follow-up, much remains to be done to improve the process of outpatient follow-up care. …