Clinical Audit Quality Improvement Quiz & Flashcards

Study Notes

Clinical Audit

The purpose of clinical audit is to evaluate the quality of patient care and identify areas for improvement.

Aspects of Patient Care

Clinical audit systematically evaluates aspects of patient care, including:
- Structure (e.g., facilities, equipment, staffing)
- Process (e.g., clinical procedures, patient pathways)
- Outcome (e.g., patient outcomes, health status)

Clinical Governance

The main focus of clinical auditing as part of clinical governance is to improve the quality and safety of patient care.

Purpose of Clinical Audit

Clinical audit aims to answer the question: "Are we doing what we should be doing, and are we doing it well?"

Clinical Audit vs. Research

Clinical audit is not considered research, as it is focused on evaluating existing practices, not generating new knowledge.
The main difference between clinical audit and research is that research aims to generate new knowledge, whereas clinical audit aims to evaluate existing practices.
Research requires approval from an ethics committee, whereas clinical audit does not.

Description

Test your knowledge of clinical audit and quality improvement processes used by healthcare professionals to assess, evaluate, and improve patient care and outcomes. Learn about the purpose of clinical audit and the aspects of patient care that are systematically evaluated against explicit criteria.