In a landmark study seeking to ensure that your next medical lab result is both timely and accurate, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have lifted the veil on a host of preventable errors plaguing laboratory diagnostics. The MIT team, enlisting perspectives from the aerospace engineering sector, pinpointed six systemic factors contributing to patient hazards. The comprehensive findings, published in MIT News, may pave the way for fundamental changes in the medical industry.
With roughly 13 billion lab tests run annually in the U.S. alone, the stakes are sky-high, as these errors rank as the third-leading cause of death nationwide. The in-depth analysis, undertaken by MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering Systems Lab in collaboration with Synensys, revealed a multifaceted yet fragmented diagnostic laboratory data ecosystem. Parts of the ecosystem, including doctors, lab technicians, device manufacturers, and even government entities, are often mired in miscommunication and outdated procedures, leading to critical missteps in patient care.
A year's worth of data, interviews exceeding 50 with health care professionals, and rigorous application of aerospace principles led MIT researchers to conclude that simpler, more interconnected approaches could significantly truncate the risk of errors. “While there are hundreds of UCAs [unsafe control actions], there are only six systemic factors that are causing these hazards,” Polly Harrington, a graduate student on the research team, told MIT News. “Using a system-based methodology, the medical community can address many of these issues with one swoop.”
Among the recommendations is the application of closed-loop controls, a common practice within aerospace industries, which could revolutionize the current health-care paradigm. If implemented, these measures could ensure better coordination—for instance, securing confirmation that test results have indeed reached the pertaining physicians, or instigating thorough investigations into diagnostic errors as standard protocol. “Operating without controls is like asking a robot to navigate a city street blindfolded,” research engineer John Thomas explained to MIT News.
The research doesn’t end here. The next phase, as revealed by MIT researchers, will evaluate diagnostic screenings conducted outside the controlled lab environment, such as in-home and point-of-care testing—areas that have seen an explosion of activity during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study will build upon the propagated concept of viewing health care as an engineered system, which could be a game changer for the industry. "If we can convince people to think of health care as an engineered system, we can go a long way in solving some of these entrenched problems," Rodrigo Rose, a graduate student on the team, said in his interview with MIT News. The continued research is part of the SHIELD initiative, an FDA operation focused on enhancing the safety and interoperability of lab data utilizing systems theory.
