Older adult populations face many unique challenges to diagnostic safety. Despite increased attention to the burden and causes of diagnostic errors among older adults, implementation and testing of interventions to reduce diagnostic errors has been lagging. Research efforts are needed to meaningfully partner with older adults to co-design interventions, include older adults in more clinical trials and research studies, better define patient-level measures and outcomes, and improve data collection related to diagnostic safety of older adults.
In the policy arena, next steps to achieving diagnostic excellence for older adults include establishing team-based payment models and policies, enhancing training in geriatrics for healthcare professionals and researchers, funding research that focuses on diagnostic errors in older adults, and better defining patient-level measures and outcomes.
