CDC’s Core Elements to promote diagnostic excellence

Nearly a decade after the National Academy of Medicine released the "Improving Diagnosis in Health Care" report, diagnostic errors remain common, often leading to physical, psychological, emotional, and financial harm. Despite a robust body of research on potential solutions and next steps, the translation of these efforts to patient care has been limited. Improvement initiatives are still narrowly focused on selective themes such as diagnostic stewardship, preventing overdiagnosis, and enhancing clinical reasoning without comprehensively addressing vulnerable systems and processes surrounding diagnosis. To close this implementation gap, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the Core Elements of Hospital Diagnostic Excellence programs on September 17, 2024. This initiative aligns with the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2024 World Patient Safety Day focus on improving diagnosis. These Core Elements provide guidance for the formation of hospital programs to improve diagnosis and aim to integrate various disparate efforts in hospitals. By creating a shared mental model of diagnostic excellence, the Core Elements of Diagnostic Excellence supports actions to break down silos, guide hospitals toward multidisciplinary diagnostic excellence teams, and provide a foundation for building diagnostic excellence programs in hospitals.