Friday, November 25, 2022

National Academies: Focus on Diagnostics, Equity, Other Implementation Topics

A couple months ago I had the chance to speak at a Washington forum by National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine, on diagnostics and health equity issues.

Here's a new article in JAMA Health Forum by NASEM on its goals and programs.  The article focuses on the "National Leadership Incubator" for diagnostic excellence, and outlines its key goals.  Find it here:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2799031


The authors write,

  • Few cross-cutting, disease-agnostic funding models have specifically been designed for leadership development related to research and implementation on patient safety, quality, and equitable health care system improvement. 
  • The NAM DxEx Scholars program served as a leadership incubator focused on transforming the implementation of diagnostic excellence through the lens of health equity. The inaugural cohort included scholars from a wide variety of clinical specialties. 
    • Scholars met virtually to learn foundational topics related to diagnostic excellence, cognition and clinical reasoning, equity and inclusion, systems thinking, patient engagement, data science, and change management. 
    • Each scholar had an assigned project mentor with expertise relevant to their project and also formed topic-focused groups within the cohort to promote collaboration and peer mentorship. The program culminated with an in-person summit where scholars shared their scholarship and implementation and sought guidance to expand their reach beyond the fellowship.
  • The inaugural NAM DxEx scholars identified the following 5 foundational themes to improve the diagnostic process: (1) there is no diagnostic excellence without equity; (2) uncertainty is ubiquitous; (3) diagnostic safety frameworks are universally applicable; (4) data science and machine learning can be applied to the diagnostic journey; and (5) the diagnostic process must always be guided by the patient’s voice.
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Bonus citation.

In September 2022, PAC CARB (President's Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic Resistance) held a public meeting on pandemic & AMR issues.  Meeting documents (usually includes transcript) are not posted yet.  But three topics included:

(Note, that link will likely change when moved from "upcoming" status to "past')

Module 2: Diagnostics

Understanding the Human Diagnostic Communication Network (Labs, Public Health Departments, and Providers) 
Kim Musser, New York Department of Health Wadsworth Center

Developing New Human Diagnostics in an Emergency Situation
Jean Patel, Beckman Coulter

Current Capabilities and Capacity for Diagnosing Fungal Infections and Resistance
Tom Chiller, CDC/Mycotic Disease Branch

The above videos are here: