# Engaging Patients in Diagnostic Error Reporting

> **NIH AHRQ K01** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $153,360

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Diagnostic errors pose a significant threat to patient safety. According to the recent Institute of Medicine report,
Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, most people will likely experience at least one diagnostic error in their
lifetime, some with devastating consequences. Despite increased interest in diagnostic errors and policy
initiatives to increase patient engagement, patient experiences of diagnostic error are underutilized as tools for
improvement. The goal of this proposal is to develop and test an electronic patient-centered diagnostic error-
reporting system. The specific aims are to: 1) Determine patients' and family members' experiences of
diagnostic errors and views on patient-centered best practices for error reporting; 2) Identify current work
system barriers and facilitators to patient reporting of diagnostic error; and 3) Develop and test an electronic,
patient-centered, diagnostic error-reporting system to capture and classify patient- and family-reported
diagnostic errors. In Aim 1, in-depth interviews will be conducted with patients and family members affected by
diagnostic errors. In Aim 2, key informant interviews will be conducted with patient safety officers, safety and
legal staff and clinicians to identify facilitators and barriers to learning from patient reports, including how to
integrate it into existing error reporting strategies. In Aim 3, a taxonomy will be developed based on the
language and personal experiences of patients and family members from Aim 1, findings from Aim 2 and input
from key stakeholders (e.g., patients and experts in patient safety and clinical informatics). An electronic error-
reporting system will be developed using the taxonomy to inform the data structure. To refine the electronic
system, iterative usability testing will be conducted with patients and family members who have experienced
diagnostic error. Finally, the patient-centered electronic error-reporting system will be pilot tested to determine
its feasibility and acceptability with patients who have experienced a diagnostic error.
 This K01 award will facilitate Dr. Traber Giardina's long-term career goal to become an independent
health services researcher. The protected time will allow her training and experience in four key areas: patient
safety, participatory research methods, informatics and human factors principles. Training will be accomplished
through a combination of didactic coursework, seminars, conferences and mentored research projects. My
mentors, Hardeep Singh, MD, MPH, an experienced mentor and internationally recognized expert in diagnostic
error research, and Dean Sittig, PhD, a nationally recognized expert in the field of applied clinical informatics,
will supervise training. The proposed work represents a substantive departure from previous research in the
area of improving patient safety by incorporating patient experiences into the diagnostic error literature and
developing a patient-cen...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10246863
- **Project number:** 5K01HS025474-04
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Traber L Giardina
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $153,360
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10246863

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10246863, Engaging Patients in Diagnostic Error Reporting (5K01HS025474-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10246863. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*
