SimulConsult seeks to end diagnostic odysseys and errors.
SimulConsult seeks to end diagnostic odysseys and errors, by empowering clinicians to reliably and quickly arrive at accurate differential diagnoses, order the right tests, and reach a confirmed diagnosis, and thus provide the best care for their patients.
Diagnosis is error-prone and expensive. The frequency of diagnostic errors ranges from 5-15%, with lower numbers for lethal errors and higher numbers in situations such as judging viral illness to be bacterial (Graber et. al 2005, Newman-Toker and Pronovost 2009, Schiff et al. 2009, Singh et al. 2010). In genetics, these errors are even higher, and take two forms: incorrect diagnoses and diagnostic odysseys with no answer. In the Eurodis study of 12,000 patients with genetic diseases (Kole and Faurisson 2009), at least 25% of patients suffered through diagnostic odysseys (3-30 years), including frequent misdiagnosis (40% of patients), and inappropriate care (16% had futile surgeries, 33% had other incorrect treatments, and 10% were incorrectly referred for psychological care on the assumption the symptoms were psychosomatic). Diagnosis-related costs are growing at 14% annually, or nearly three times the rate of other medical costs, due to new knowledge about diseases and new laboratory tests, and this estimate does not include costs associated with the consequences of errors (Feldman 2009).