The majority of people will have at least one incorrect or delayed diagnosis in their lifetime, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences (NAS), Engineering and Medicine.

Even though getting the right diagnosis is essential, there hasn’t been much done to reduce diagnostic errors and the problem may worsen if things don't change. It’s a challenge to improve diagnosis since it’s a process that happens over time and involves different health care settings.

Poor collaboration and communication among clinicians, patients and their families is one of the main issues. Patients and their families provide information that influences diagnosis and decisions about their care, so the authors recommended that health care professionals improve access to EHRs and give patients opportunities to learn about diagnosis.

Identifying diagnostic errors, learning from them and implementing changes are an important part of the solution. Since the culture of health care organizations does not encourage those things, the authors are calling for a shift to a non-punitive culture that fosters open discussions and feedback on diagnostic performance.

The payment and care delivery structure and the medical liability system also need to be changed to support the diagnostic process. CMS and other payors should develop codes and provide coverage for evaluation and management activities and transparency should be encouraged.

Better training is also an important part of the puzzle. The authors are also calling for training that focuses on clinical reasoning, teamwork, communication and diagnostic testing.

“This latest report is a serious wake-up call that we still have a long way to go,” Victor J. Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine, said in a statement. “Diagnostic errors are a significant contributor to patient harm that has received far too little attention until now.”