Medical gaslighting tops ECRI’s 2025 patient safety threat list

Editor's Note

Misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, and a breakdown of trust in healthcare can all result from time and resource constraints preventing proper engagement with patients—a concern that tops ECRI’s list of the most significant patient safety risks for 2025.

As detailed in the global healthcare safety nonprofit’s March 10 announcement, the dismissal of patient, family, and caregiver concerns is widespread, with more than 94% of patients in a survey from HealthCentral reporting instances of symptoms going unaddressed. This phenomenon, referred to as “medical gaslighting,” occurs when legitimate concerns are invalidated without proper evaluation. Unlike intentional gaslighting, clinicians exhibiting this behavior often do so unknowingly.  ECRI experts advocate for a holistic, systems-based approach to patient safety.  

Here is the entire Top 10 list:

1. Dismissing patient, family, and caregiver concerns
2. Insufficient governance of artificial intelligence
3. Spread of medical misinformation
4. Cybersecurity breaches
5. Caring for veterans in non-military health settings
6. Substandard and falsified drugs
7. Diagnostic error in cancers, vascular events, and infections
8. Healthcare-associated infections in long-term care facilities
9. Inadequate coordination during patient discharge
10. Deteriorating working conditions in community pharmacies

The full report outlines targeted recommendations for addressing these risks, emphasizing organizational resilience and system-wide safety initiatives.