Anaesthetists Handbook - MEDICAL EDUCATION at University ...

Clinical auditGuidelines for undertaking clinical auditThese guidelines have been developed by the Clinical EffectivenessDepartment to ensure that the clinical audit we undertake leads tosignificant and long lasting improvements to patient care.Practical tipsMajor clinical audit projects should be identified and agreed uponthrough clinical audit meetings. Sub-specialty clinical audit projectsshould be identified and prioritised through a sub-group discussionmeeting attended by the consultants attached to the sub-group andtrainees. This will ensure that every opinion is considered.The project should be clinical in nature and should be directly relatedto patient care and based on either national priorities, researchevidence and/or expert opinion, professional concern (e.g.variation in practice, recent change, high volume, high risk or highcost) or patient perceptions (e.g. a complaint or clinical adverseevent).All relevant staff (in all disciplines), and GPs and patients whereapplicable, should be involved in the design of the clinical audit. It isimportant to explain what is to be evaluated and why and to highlightthe implications for change in order to gain commitment andownership; staff should also be invited to attend the auditpresentation. This should ensure a higher completion rate ofproformas and increase compliance with any audit recommendations.Explicit standards or guidelines should be used where possible(national, regional and local).Data collection should be as current as possible (i.e. within 2 years),relevant and valid (to reflect actual practice not assumed practice).Using the audit meetingIt is best to keep the overall presentation to a maximum 15 minutes,as the audit meeting must be a conduit to discuss results, agreerecommendations, plan changes and complete the action plan.94 Anaesthetists Handbook January 2010