View more from Listerine
Switch to Dark theme

References

Meyer BC, Bishop DS. Florence Nightingale: nineteenth century apostle of quality. J Mgmt Hist. 2007; 13:(3)240-254
Donabedian A. The end results of health care: Ernest Codman's contribution to quality assessment and beyond. Milbank Quarterly. 1989; 67:(2)233-256
: Department of Health; 2001
Part 16, Para 249, Standard General Dental Service Contract. 2006;
Oxford: Radcliffe Medical Press; 2002
Dinakara Babu E, Khan AZ, Khashaba A, Kishore M, Ramachandran S, Patil PM, Kulandaivel S. Clinical audit: can we improve further?. J R Coll Surg Edinb. 2001; 46::171-172
BDA Guidance: Care Quality Commission.London: BDA; 2010
Donebedian A. The quality of care: how can it be assessed?. J Am Med Assoc. 1988; 260:(12)1743-1748
Ellison SJ. An outcome audit of three day antimicrobial prescribing for the acute dentoalveolar abscess. Br Dent J. 2011; 211::591-594
Palmer NAO, Pealing R, Ireland RS, Martin MV. Therapeutics: a study of therapeutic antibiotic prescribing in National Health Service general dental practice in England. Br Dent J. 2000; 188::554-558
Brocklebank LM. Dental radiograph quality. Br Dent J. 1999; 186

Clinical audit – process and outcome for improved clinical practice

From Volume 39, Issue 10, December 2012 | Pages 710-714

Authors

Shabana Buth

BDS(Hons), MFDS RCS(Ed)

Career Development Post (CDP), Restorative Dentistry Department, St George's NHS Trust, London

Articles by Shabana Buth

Len D'Cruz

BDS, LDSRCS, FCGDent, LLM, DipFOd

General Dental Practitioner, Woodford Green, Essex

Articles by Len D'Cruz

Email Len D'Cruz

Abstract

Audit is a key aspect of everyday clinical care and essential for the safe as well as efficient functioning of any clinical environment. This applies to clinical care both within primary practice and secondary care within a hospital environment. The undertaking of an audit allows the clinician to analyse his or her own clinical practice in relation to current guidance or ‘gold standard’ parameters to enable best practice within all aspects of patient care to be implemented. This paper aims to explore the origins and importance of clinical audit as well as the various processes involved in undertaking it successfully.

Clinical Relevance: This article will enable clinicians to understand the importance of audit and how to incorporate it into their everyday practice.

Article

Clinical audit as a construct is embedded in the healthcare provision within the United Kingdom but has its origins in the Crimean War from 1853–1855. Florence Nightingale, an unknown British nurse at the time, noted the ‘unsanitary conditions’ and ‘high mortality rates’1 amongst injured soldiers at the medical barracks hospital in Scutari 1853. In response to these observations, she recruited a team of nurses to introduce strict cross-infection control measures within the hospital, as well as keeping records of relative mortality rates amongst the soldiers. This change of hygiene and sanitary procedures within the hospital led to a decline in mortality rates from 40% to 2%1, and was instrumental in helping improve the quality of care within the hospital environment. This is one of the earliest examples of ‘outcomes management’.1

Another advocate of improving the quality of patient care utilizing an ‘end results outcome’2 approach was Ernest Codman, a pioneering and dedicated surgeon in Massachusetts in the 1890s. He was a firm believer in analysing clinical ‘misadventures’2 and studying hospital outcomes, as well as how they could be improved. He developed his own hospital in the early 1900s, where he followed the progress of a large number of his patients through their recoveries ‘within a systematic manner’2 via a series of ‘end result cards’.2 This led him to establish an ‘end results system’2 which led to an improvement in patient care.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Dental Update and reading some of our resources. To read more, please register today. You’ll enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included

  • Up to 2 free articles per month
  • New content available

Already have an account? Sign in here