American Board of Medical Specialties And National Patient Safety Foundation Host Summit On Certification And Diagnostic Accuracy

CHICAGO, Dec. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of a long standing commitment to improving the quality and safety of patient care, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) brought nationally recognized experts together on December 7 to explore ways to reduce the risk of error and improve overall diagnostic accuracy.

Diagnostic error is receiving national attention due to the recent release of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Improving Diagnosis in Health Care's breakthrough report "Improving Diagnosis in Health Care."

"The IOM report placed a spotlight on the issue of diagnostic error which is an important area for improved patient safety and quality of care," said ABMS President and Chief Executive Officer Lois Margaret Nora, MD, JD, MBA. "ABMS and its Member Boards are in a unique position to help focus attention on diagnostic accuracy through our certification programs.  The insights we gained from the experts will inform and improve our work and its impact."

"Diagnostic error is an important safety issue, and NPSF was pleased to collaborate with ABMS on this program," said Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Patient Safety Foundation. "Enhancing the education and training of health care professionals around the diagnostic process is a chief recommendation of the IOM report, and certainly a goal that NPSF supports."

The Summit featured presentations and focused discussions among nationally recognized researchers, policy analysts and health care leaders from across the health care system including:

• Susan Edgman-Levitan, PA, Executive Director, John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Rosemary Gibson, Senior Advisor, The Hastings Center
• Mark Graber, MD, FACP, Founder and President, Society to Improve Medical Diagnosis, Senior Fellow, RTI International
• Valerie Jackson, MD, Executive Director, American Board of Radiology
• Carol Keohane, MS, RN, Assistant Vice President, Patient Safety, Controlled Risk Insurance Company/Risk Management Foundation, Harvard Medical Institutions
• Earl Reisdorff, MD, Executive Director, American Board of Emergency Medicine
• Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP, Chief Health Officer and Vice President, IBM Corporation
• Gordon Schiff, MD, Associate Director, Brigham and Women's Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice
• Hardeep Singh, MD, MPH, Chief, Health Policy, Quality and Informatics,, Michael E. DeBakey Veteran's Administration Medical Center

"The IOM report recognized the role that professional certification and accreditation organizations play in making certain that physicians possess and maintain the skills and competencies necessary for accurate diagnosis," concluded John Moorhead, MD, Acting Chair, ABMS Board of Directors. "As such, we felt it critical to further explore the topic and engage a wide variety of perspectives. We recognize that, while physicians' skills are essential, improvement of diagnostic accuracy require systems improvement as well. This Summit was the continuation of conversation within the board's community on impactful ways to maximize diagnostic accuracy and patient safety."

A proceedings paper capturing Summit observations and recommendations will be released in early 2016.

About ABMS
Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is the leading not-for-profit organization overseeing physician certification in the United States. ABMS establishes the standards its 24 Member Boards use to develop and implement educational and professional evaluation, assessment, and certification of physician specialists. More than 840,000 physicians are certified in one or more of the 150 specialties and subspecialties offered by the ABMS Member Boards. For more information about ABMS, visit www.abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.

About the National Patient Safety Foundation
The National Patient Safety Foundation's vision is to create a world where patients and those who care for them are free from harm. A central voice for patient safety since 1997, NPSF partners with patients and families, the health care community, and key stakeholders to advance patient safety and health care workforce safety and disseminate strategies to prevent harm. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the Foundation's work, visit www.npsf.org and follow @theNPSF on Twitter.

SOURCE American Board of Medical Specialties

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http://www.abms.org