The Story of CIDM

In a mature forest, a dying tree can transfer almost half of its carbon and nutrients to its saplings; its root system connects directly to the mycorrhizal network in the soil of the forest floor. The bounteous gifts from its ancestors comprise an essential stimulus for the next generation’s development and growth.*

This remarkable story from nature of rebirth and growth is an apt metaphor for CIDM, with our goal of continuing and building upon the foundational progress achieved by our forebear, the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine. SIDM was founded as a non-profit group in 2011 with the goal of reducing the harm from diagnostic error in health care. Thanks to early work of the National Patient Safety Foundation, the patient safety movement got its start in 1999, sparked by the “To Err is Human Report”. But diagnostic safety was not a focus in these early days; the emphasis was on falls, wrong-site surgery, medication errors, etc. SIDM transformed the patient safety landscape by taking diagnostic improvement from the shadows to the forefront. Through its annual meetings, its growing international membership, and its outreach through the Coalition to Improve Diagnosis, SIDM succeeded in promoting the importance of addressing diagnostic error. The landmark report from the National Academy of Medicine “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care” was by far the most influential landmark in this journey. Diagnostic error is now recognized internationally as the leading cause of harm in healthcare today, the #1 patient safety concern.

IN 2024, after years of contibuting to improving diagnosis, SIDM closed its doors in financial distress. 

CIDM picks up where SIDM left off. We now know so much about diagnostic error: How big a problem it is, where it happens, and why it happens. The work of making diagnosis safe, however, all lies ahead. With the help of the thousands of patients, clinicians, researchers, and educators now focused on this problem, progress is possible. CIDM is the only organization solely dedicated to improving diagnosis

CIDM was incorporated in Michigan in 2024 as a 501c3 non-profit corporation by Ruth Ryan, David Meyers, Edward Hoffer, and Mark L Graber. Each was involved with the foundation of SIDM over a decade ago, and the Board has since been fortunate to add Dana Siegal and Helen Haskell. 

* The Social Life of Forests. Ferris Jabr. New York Times, 2020