Errors that can occur in the problem list:
(1) duplicate diagnoses (from a failure to consolidate)
(2) missing diagnoses
(3) erroneous diagnoses (not present, misidentified)
(4) errors in relatedness/causation (primary vs secondary, hereditary, drug-induced, idiopathic)
(5) incorrect designation for disease activity (resolved, active, relapse, etc)
Reasons for the errors:
(1) failure to recognize duplication or omission
(2) afraid to remove a problem once listed (very common)
(3) not spending time with the list because the provider views the problem list as not important
(4) intentional
(5) ignorance
Automating the generation of a problem list may prove helpful in the future. This could reduce omissions and identify duplicatations. However, the person responsible for maintaining the list still must spend time to make sure that is complete and correct.
