When Anand Petigara and Kate Watts learned of their son Juna’s rare congenital heart disease, the diagnosis marked the beginning of a lifelong journey for their family. Five years and multiple hospital admissions later, Juna is thriving under the care of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Cardiac Center — and his parents have learned a great deal about collaborating with clinical teams. Petigara, now a senior family consultant on the Patient and Family Experience team at CHOP, has shared his knowledge with other families through CHOP’s Center for Diagnostic Excellence (CDE), the first program of its kind.
Almost every person will experience a missed, delayed or incorrect diagnosis during their lifetime. Diagnostic errors are costly and harmful, yet they remain understudied and unaddressed by many healthcare organizations — something CHOP seeks to change. Established in 2022, the CDE is at the forefront of initiatives aimed at understanding and preventing diagnostic errors nationwide. Within CHOP, its staff works to ensure that every child receives the right diagnosis and that clinicians communicate transparently with families throughout their healthcare journeys.
“Families might not be medical experts, but we are experts in our children,” Petigara says. “The CDE’s dedication to involving families early and continuously transforms our experience, turning our trauma into wisdom that becomes an invaluable part of the diagnostic process.”
A Complex Task
“Diagnostic excellence relies on input from patients, families and clinicians alike, and it also requires the commitment of a healthcare organization to learn and improve,” says Meghan Galligan, MD, MSPH, medical director of the CDE. “By learning where systems succeed and where they fall short, we can improve outcomes and set a new standard — not just at CHOP, but across all settings that provide pediatric care.”
This approach puts CHOP at the leading edge of diagnostic safety innovation. To date, the CDE has reviewed nearly 1,000 patient cases to identify opportunities to improve diagnosis. Each review becomes a learning exercise, helping to strengthen the diagnostic process. Reaching a diagnosis can be a complex task, often involving teams of care providers who must integrate information from many sources. The CDE supports clinicians by embedding specialized education for diagnostic reasoning in CHOP’s training programs and continuing professional education.
CDE leadership also co-created a diagnostic resource — a tool that educates families on the diagnostic process and their role in it — with a family advisory council comprised of relatives of CHOP patients, including Petigara. “Juna had three surgeries, two cardiac catheterizations and a pacemaker implantation all before his second birthday,” he says. “We relied on clinical staff to guide us through all the information that was coming at us and all the decisions that had to be made. Every step of the way, they empowered us to be active members in that ongoing process.”
Pioneering Diagnostic Safety Research
Research is at the heart of the CDE’s innovation. Irit Rasooly, MD, MSCE, the center’s Director of Research, leads studies to identify patterns in pediatric diagnostic errors and set new standards for diagnostic safety in children’s healthcare. “We focus on identifying and analyzing opportunities to improve diagnosis, so we can design practical solutions that improve care,” Dr. Rasooly says. “By combining data science, clinical expertise, family input and knowledge about how people interact within various environments, we’re creating evidence-based strategies to improve diagnosis and reduce harm.”
CHOP’s research will drive advancements that benefit CHOP patients while also influencing pediatric care nationwide. In November 2024, CHOP hosted a donor-funded consortium with more than two dozen experts from across the country. The group is now working to launch the new Pediatric Diagnostic Safety Alliance — a national effort to set pediatric diagnostic standards and share best practices, creating a benchmark for quality and safety.
“This collaborative underscores CHOP’s commitment to transforming pediatric diagnosis beyond its own walls,” says CDE program manager Cara Jefferies, MSN, RN, CCRN. “By prioritizing diagnostic excellence and becoming a first-in-class leader of this work, CHOP can make a significant impact on the health of all children.”
To support the Center for Diagnostic Excellence, contact Hannah Hemmerle at hemmerleh@chop.edu.
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When Anand Petigara and Kate Watts learned of their son Juna’s rare congenital heart disease, the diagnosis marked the beginning of a lifelong journey for their family. Five years and multiple hospital admissions later, Juna is thriving under the care of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Cardiac Center — and his parents have learned a great deal about collaborating with clinical teams. Petigara, now a senior family consultant on the Patient and Family Experience team at CHOP, has shared his knowledge with other families through CHOP’s Center for Diagnostic Excellence (CDE), the first program of its kind.
Almost every person will experience a missed, delayed or incorrect diagnosis during their lifetime. Diagnostic errors are costly and harmful, yet they remain understudied and unaddressed by many healthcare organizations — something CHOP seeks to change. Established in 2022, the CDE is at the forefront of initiatives aimed at understanding and preventing diagnostic errors nationwide. Within CHOP, its staff works to ensure that every child receives the right diagnosis and that clinicians communicate transparently with families throughout their healthcare journeys.
“Families might not be medical experts, but we are experts in our children,” Petigara says. “The CDE’s dedication to involving families early and continuously transforms our experience, turning our trauma into wisdom that becomes an invaluable part of the diagnostic process.”
A Complex Task
“Diagnostic excellence relies on input from patients, families and clinicians alike, and it also requires the commitment of a healthcare organization to learn and improve,” says Meghan Galligan, MD, MSPH, medical director of the CDE. “By learning where systems succeed and where they fall short, we can improve outcomes and set a new standard — not just at CHOP, but across all settings that provide pediatric care.”
This approach puts CHOP at the leading edge of diagnostic safety innovation. To date, the CDE has reviewed nearly 1,000 patient cases to identify opportunities to improve diagnosis. Each review becomes a learning exercise, helping to strengthen the diagnostic process. Reaching a diagnosis can be a complex task, often involving teams of care providers who must integrate information from many sources. The CDE supports clinicians by embedding specialized education for diagnostic reasoning in CHOP’s training programs and continuing professional education.
CDE leadership also co-created a diagnostic resource — a tool that educates families on the diagnostic process and their role in it — with a family advisory council comprised of relatives of CHOP patients, including Petigara. “Juna had three surgeries, two cardiac catheterizations and a pacemaker implantation all before his second birthday,” he says. “We relied on clinical staff to guide us through all the information that was coming at us and all the decisions that had to be made. Every step of the way, they empowered us to be active members in that ongoing process.”
Pioneering Diagnostic Safety Research
Research is at the heart of the CDE’s innovation. Irit Rasooly, MD, MSCE, the center’s Director of Research, leads studies to identify patterns in pediatric diagnostic errors and set new standards for diagnostic safety in children’s healthcare. “We focus on identifying and analyzing opportunities to improve diagnosis, so we can design practical solutions that improve care,” Dr. Rasooly says. “By combining data science, clinical expertise, family input and knowledge about how people interact within various environments, we’re creating evidence-based strategies to improve diagnosis and reduce harm.”
CHOP’s research will drive advancements that benefit CHOP patients while also influencing pediatric care nationwide. In November 2024, CHOP hosted a donor-funded consortium with more than two dozen experts from across the country. The group is now working to launch the new Pediatric Diagnostic Safety Alliance — a national effort to set pediatric diagnostic standards and share best practices, creating a benchmark for quality and safety.
“This collaborative underscores CHOP’s commitment to transforming pediatric diagnosis beyond its own walls,” says CDE program manager Cara Jefferies, MSN, RN, CCRN. “By prioritizing diagnostic excellence and becoming a first-in-class leader of this work, CHOP can make a significant impact on the health of all children.”
To support the Center for Diagnostic Excellence, contact Hannah Hemmerle at hemmerleh@chop.edu.
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