In our region, diagnostic delays often show up in familiar situations:
- Winter urgency and compressed timelines: Symptoms that seem “manageable” in the moment can escalate quickly, and follow-up may be delayed by weather, transportation, or staffing.
- Multiple visits before the right diagnosis: Patients may be seen more than once—urgent care, primary care, imaging, then a specialist—before the correct condition is identified.
- Imaging and lab handoffs: Results can move between departments and facilities. A missed abnormality, a delayed review, or confusion about who should follow up can become legally significant.
Even when an automated system is part of the workflow—such as clinical decision support, imaging triage, or documentation assistance—the law generally focuses on what clinicians and the facility did with the information.


