Making mental health diagnoses more consistent to keep patients safer
Official title: Reducing Variance in Diagnosis of Mental Disorders to Improve Patient Safety
Funded at Rand Corporation · NIH-11193917 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will make psychiatric diagnoses more consistent so people receiving mental health care are less likely to get the wrong medications.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rand Corporation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Santa Monica, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $500,000 |
| NIH project number | 5R18HS030218-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11193917 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people who receive psychiatric care at participating clinics or whose recent mental health diagnoses and records could be reviewed, and clinicians who diagnose mental disorders may also take part.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not interact with participating mental health providers or whose care occurs outside the study sites are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
From your perspective, researchers will look at how different clinicians decide on psychiatric diagnoses and where they disagree. They will compare provider diagnoses for the same patients using records, clinician ratings, and likely standardized interviews or clinical vignettes. The team will identify common sources of inconsistency and test practical changes such as clearer guidance or decision tools to reduce that variability. The goal is to create clinic-ready approaches that help clinicians give safer, more reliable diagnoses.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reduce harmful medication errors and improve patient safety by making psychiatric diagnoses more reliable.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research shows structured interviews and clearer diagnostic criteria can improve agreement between clinicians, but applying these fixes widely in routine care has been inconsistent.
Where this research is happening
-
Rand Corporation
Santa Monica, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Matthews, Luke — Rand Corporation
- Study coordinator: Matthews, Luke
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.