Clinical audit

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Clinical Audit

Clinical audit (pronounced: klin-i-kal aw-dit) is a quality improvement process that seeks to improve patient care and outcomes through systematic review of care against explicit criteria and the implementation of change. The key component of clinical audit is that performance is reviewed (or audited) to ensure that what should be done is being done, and if not it provides a framework to enable improvements to be made.

Etymology

The term "Clinical" is derived from the Greek word "klinikos", which means "bed". In this context, it refers to the medical practice that is oriented towards patient care. "Audit" comes from the Latin word "audire", which means "to hear". In the context of healthcare, an audit is a systematic review or assessment of something.

Related Terms

  • Healthcare Quality: The degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge.
  • Patient Safety: The prevention of errors and adverse effects to patients associated with health care.
  • Quality Improvement: The systematic approach to reduction or elimination of waste, rework, and losses in production process.
  • Evidence-Based Practice: The conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.

Process

The clinical audit process involves several steps:

  1. Identifying a topic or issue to be audited.
  2. Defining standards or guidelines against which to audit.
  3. Collecting and analyzing data.
  4. Comparing results with standards or guidelines.
  5. Implementing changes to practice.
  6. Re-auditing to ensure improvement.

Importance

Clinical audits are crucial in healthcare for several reasons:

  • They help to ensure that the care provided to patients is of the highest possible quality.
  • They provide a way to assess the performance of individual clinicians and healthcare teams.
  • They can identify areas for improvement in clinical practice.
  • They can provide evidence of good practice.
  • They can help to improve patient outcomes and experiences.

External links

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