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Diagnostic errors cause significant patient harm and occur among 15 percent of all clinical diagnoses, but research has yet to effectively target, prevent, and mitigate diagnostic errors from occurring. So far, literature has examined how diagnostician decision-makers perform and reach a clinical diagnosis individually. However, the impact of team-based activities on diagnosis is unknown. The purpose of this study is to describe provider perception on how providers come together as a team in order to complete a clinical diagnosis. As a qualitative descriptive study with overtones of grounded theory, 18 semi-structured interviews of medical intensive care unit providers were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded generating themes of diagnostic teamwork structure and functioning. Diagnostic teams are described using themes of inter-professional and intra-professional teamwork among roles with and without diagnostic team identity. Novel approaches to diagnostic error research, practice implications for current providers, and applications provided for improving education and team training. By providing preliminary insights on the role of teamwork in diagnostic decision-making, this study may assist future studies that improve diagnostic teamwork and prevent diagnostic errors.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of decisions support systems (DSS) by critical care physicians and to address the following questions: Does the use of a decision support system during diagnosis reduce diagnostic error and how are decision support systems used by critical care physicians? There are no studies that address these research questions in a clinical setting. The information assessment method (IAM) was used to guide the development of the survey questions. Critical care physicians from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center were surveyed. Chi squared test for independence was used to determine the relationship between DSS use and diagnostic error rates. There were three main findings of the study: (1) use of a DSS by a critical care physician can decrease diagnostic error by up to 60%; (2) 56% of critical care physicians are using a DSS during diagnosis to learn something new, confirm something they already knew, and/or to reassure themselves; and (3) the increased use of a DSS by critical care physicians can lead to a decrease in the belief of the ability of a DSS to reduce diagnostic error.