Coverys reviewed five years of closed medical malpractice claims—6,009 events closed from 2020-2024. Nearly one quarter (24%) of events involved office-based care. Of those 1,442 office-based care events, approximately 38% (552) involved an allegation of a missed, wrong, or delayed diagnosis. Top Clinical Services Specialties with the highest volume of office-based care— internal medicine and family medicine—are most frequently named as the service responsible for the patient’s care at the time of the alleged diagnostic error, accounting for 41% of events and 45% of indemnity paid. As a group, surgical specialties are the second most common service, accounting for 23% of events and 22% of indemnity paid. Top Missed Diagnoses Nearly half (45%) of the events alleged a missed cancer diagnosis. Prostate, lung, breast, and colorectal cancers were the most common. It is worth noting that—although the medical community regularly debates the efficacy of various screenings—the top missed cancer types have all been promoted to the general population as “detectable.” Clinical Severity In one-third of the events, the patient died, with an additional 22% suffering a high-severity injury. Together, those tragic events accounted for 72% of the indemnity paid. ( 7 ) DIAGNOSTIC ERROR INSIGHTS FROM OFFICE-BASED EVENTS | HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT | Exposing the Drivers of Diagnostic Error A DOSE OF INSIGHT ® Coverys | % Events % Indemnity Paid N=552 events with a diagnosis-related case type in the office-based setting closed 2020-2024. 41% 45% 23% 22% 18% 6% 15% 8% 7% General Medicine Surgery Medical Sub-Specialties Pediatrics EENT Internal Medicine / Family Medicine Orthopedic / Urology / GYN / General / Podiatry Neurology / Dermatology / Gastroenterology Cardiology / Oncology Pediatric Specialties Ear, Eye, Nose, and Throat VISUAL #4 - TOP CLINICAL SERVICES 5% TOP CLINICAL SERVICES % Events 45% 14% 7% 5% Cancer Infection Vascular Cardiac Prostate / Lung / Breast / Colorectal Infection / Sepsis / Abscess PE / DVT / Ischemia / Embolic Stroke MI / Cardiac Disease % Events % Indemnity Paid Low Medium High Death 9% 37% 22% 30% 32% 42% 1% 27% N=552 events with a diagnosis-related case type in the office-based setting closed 2020-2024. Injury severity based on National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) scale. VISUAL #6 - CLINICAL SEVERITY TOP MISSED DIAGNOSES CLINICAL SEVERITY N=1,126 final diagnoses on 552 events with a diagnosis-related case type in the office-based setting closed 2020-2024. An event can have more than one diagnosis. N=552 events with a diagnosis-related case type in the office-based setting closed 2020-2024. Injury severity based on National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) scale.