Accuracy and Precision of Diagnostic Instruments Impacts Outcomes

By Maria Moeller, marketing manager, Midmark Corp. September 24, 2018

In healthcare, the smallest detail can often have the biggest impact. A reported 47 percent of clinicians encounter diagnostic errors at least monthly¹. And 16 percent of errors are due to inadequate physical examination¹. Missing something subtle during this phase of the exam can have a tremendous impact on diagnosis, treatment and clinical outcomes.

For example, consider the ear and eye exam: one of the most basic parts of the primary care visit. These simple, routine exam procedures set the stage for fully understanding the clinical picture of a patient. Yet even the slightest glare from a light can impact your ability to get a full, clear image at one time.

For a patient with a complex condition such as diabetes, proper visualization is key for correct diagnosis. Many clinicians too readily accept the failings of their current instruments as status quo. The impact from misdiagnosis to the patient can be dramatic and life changing, even leading to blindness. It also leads to further increases in the cost of healthcare. Today, diabetes-related blindness costs the U.S. about $500 million annually.

There’s a better way:

• Better view. To accurately assess anatomical structures and make accurate diagnoses, you need a clear, well illuminated view. Good diagnostic tools provide continuous brightness adjustment, exceptional color rendering index, even light distribution and long product life. You should be able to see colors as they are in their natural state. Red is red. Blue is blue.

• Better care. To make the best diagnosis, you have to be able to detect even the faintest variations in color and structure. You can’t do that if something is blocking your view. Good diagnostic tools should redirect corneal reflections, for example, away from your line of sight, delivering a crisper, clearer, unobstructed view of the fundus for improved diagnosis.

• Better outcomes. To provide your patients with the care they deserve, you must be able to diagnose with confidence. With the right diagnostics instruments, you will be able to get your patient’s treatment started as soon as possible.

With the industry-wide push toward value-based care reimbursement models, better outcomes are more important than ever. There is growing interest on anything that can improve the quality of ambulatory medical care. And, since improving patient outcomes has become a central focus, providers must use good diagnostic instruments to help improve the quality of care provided to their patients.

¹https://kaiserhealthnews.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/quantiamd_preventingdiagnosticerrors_whitepaper_1.pdf  

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