Online Course

Overview

Diagnostic Error and Medical Decision Making (DEMDM) Online Course

Diagnostic errors trigger significant patient safety problems in hospitalized patients, occur in as many as 5% of outpatients annually, and lead to more malpractice claims and settlements than any other cause. Errors in diagnostic reasoning are an important if not the single most important cause of diagnostic errors. In an effort to improve diagnostic reasoning, the UPMC Clinical Center for Medical Decision Making has developed a curriculum of eleven online educational modules to teach the principles of clinical reasoning.

The modules are case-based and require an average of 20-30 minutes each to complete. They begin with a brief summary of data regarding diagnostic error and then explore principles of clinical reasoning such as inductive reasoning, analytical reasoning, dual process theory, heuristics, and bias. The final 5 modules present a simple analytic tool that can be used as a cognitive forcing function at the point of care to help improve reasoning, focusing on specific biases with case demonstrations. The course is self-paced and interactive, so users can space out their efforts in the course to fit their busy schedules.

The DEMDM course is used by all students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine curing their Internal Medicine Clerkship and also by UPMC Internal Medicine residents during their intern year. It is also featured in numerous other residency programs as a part of their core curriculum. Some programs have also utilized DEMDM to remediate learners who struggle with clinical reasoning, with positive effects on their performance.

The following programs currently utilize DEMDM for their clinical education core curriculum and/or remediation efforts:

  • University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine 3rd year Internal Medicine Clerkship
  • University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine 4th year Advanced Clinical Reasoning Elective
  • UPMC Presbyterian/Shadyside Internal Medicine Residency
  • UPMC Mercy Internal Medicine Residency
  • UPMC Altoona Family Medicine Residency
  • University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Family Medicine Residency
  • West Virginia University Camden Clark Internal Medicine Residency
  • Eisenhower Medical Center Emergency Medicine Residency
  • McLaren Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency
  • McLaren Medical Center Family Medicine Residency

The Clinical Center for Medical Decision Making currently offers the course in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh at a highly subsidized rate. If you have any questions or would like to preview the course further, please contact Dr. Casey McQuade (mcquadec@upmc.edu).