World Patient Safety Day presents a vital opportunity to raise public awareness and foster collaboration among patients, healthcare workers, policymakers, and healthcare leaders with the shared goal of enhancing patient safety.

This year’s theme, “Improving Diagnosis for Patient Safety,” with the slogan “Get it right, make it safe!” emphasizes the crucial role that accurate and timely diagnoses play in ensuring patient safety and improving overall health outcomes.

A diagnosis is the foundation of a patient's care, identifying the health problem and guiding necessary treatment. However, diagnostic errors—such as delayed, incorrect, or missed diagnoses—pose significant risks to patient safety. These errors can occur when healthcare providers fail to establish or communicate an accurate and timely explanation of a patient's condition.

Improving diagnostic safety requires addressing both systemic and cognitive factors that contribute to errors. Systemic factors refer to organizational challenges, such as communication breakdowns between healthcare professionals or between clinicians and patients, heavy workloads, and poor teamwork. Cognitive factors are related to clinician expertise and experience, as well as potential biases, fatigue, and stress that may cloud judgment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to working with stakeholders to prioritize diagnostic safety through a multifaceted approach. This includes strengthening healthcare systems, designing safer diagnostic pathways, supporting clinicians in making accurate decisions, and engaging patients throughout the diagnostic process. By doing so, we can ensure that diagnosis is not only timely but also accurate, leading to better health outcomes for all.