clinical audit


clinical audit

A term of art referring to the continuous process of assessment, evaluation and adjustment of practice by doctors, nurses and other health professionals, as carried out in the NHS (UK). Clinical audit is an ongoing process used to measure the quality of aspects of health care and services, and to improve that quality. Clinical audits are conducted in multiple cycles, where current clinical performance and practise are compared to set standards or to others, to identify bottlenecks or areas for improvement, which are targeted and addressed before the cycle is repeated.