The University of California, San Franscisco (UCSF) in partnership with the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) and funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation have awarded the College of American Pathologists and 6 other specialty societies grants of $100,000 each to promote closing the diagnostic loop by providing clinicians with feedback on their diagnostic performance in clinical registries.
The grant will focus on improving communication of test results by providing feedback on the circumstances of diagnostic uncertainty and how it is communicated. Communication of diagnostic uncertainty is an inherent part of all medicine, but excessive expressions of uncertainty could potentially lead to delayed treatment, repeat biopsy, patient anxiety, and other interventions that increase medical expenditures. It is critical to understand the reasons underlying qualifying phrases or phrases of uncertainty, such as inadequate surgical specimens.
“Diagnostic feedback plays a crucial role in improving clinical decision-making and enhancing patient outcomes,” said CAP President Donald S. Karcher, MD, FCAP. “This grant seeks to provide clarity of test results and improve communication methods of those results from data garnered in clinical registries like the CAP’s Pathologists Quality Registry. The CAP has invested in resources and experts in the field who work to anticipate what pathologists require to succeed in the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Our registry helps in the development of quality measures that optimize scores and ease compliance for pathologists. This registry not only helps pathologists get paid fairly, but it can now help play a role in advancing diagnostic excellence through meaningful feedback.”
The planning grants fund societies for 12 months to develop plans for scalable demonstration projects of diagnostic performance feedback that is impactful for their specialties.