Biomaterial Database

Clinical audit--linking continuing medical education (CME) and practice assessment (PA). 1997

L Piterman, and M Nelson

Department of Community Medicine and General Practice, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria.

The Quality Assurance (QA) Program of the Royal Australian College Of General Practitioners has required doctors to engage in practice assessment (PA) activities. Clinical audit is one of these activities and has been used as an assessment tool in the Graduate Diploma in Family Medicine at Monash University, in impact evaluation of educational programs as well as a means of pooling morbidity data for research purposes and peer review. Examples of these uses of clinical audit are cited, with discussion in greater detail in relation to a dermatology course, cardiovascular risk factor detection and ongoing management of congestive cardiac failure. Doctors participating in these audit activities have almost invariably described them as a valuable reflective educational exercise with changes in clinical practice occurring after the audit in a number of instances.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008485	Medical Audit	A detailed review and evaluation of selected clinical records by qualified professional personnel for evaluating quality of medical care.	Audit, Medical,Audits, Medical,Medical Audits
D011785	Quality Assurance, Health Care	Activities and programs intended to assure or improve the quality of care in either a defined medical setting or a program. The concept includes the assessment or evaluation of the quality of care; identification of problems or shortcomings in the delivery of care; designing activities to overcome these deficiencies; and follow-up monitoring to ensure effectiveness of corrective steps.	Quality Assessment, Health Care,Health Care Quality Assessment,Health Care Quality Assurance,Healthcare Quality Assessment,Healthcare Quality Assurance,Quality Assessment, Healthcare,Quality Assurance, Healthcare,Assessment, Healthcare Quality,Assessments, Healthcare Quality,Assurance, Healthcare Quality,Assurances, Healthcare Quality,Healthcare Quality Assessments,Healthcare Quality Assurances,Quality Assessments, Healthcare,Quality Assurances, Healthcare
D004502	Education, Medical, Continuing	Educational programs designed to inform physicians of recent advances in their field.	Medical Education, Continuing,Continuing Medical Education,Education, Continuing Medical
D004521	Educational Measurement	The assessing of academic or educational achievement. It includes all aspects of testing and test construction.	Assessment, Educational,Graduate Records Examination,Educational Assessment,Examination, Graduate Records,Measurement, Educational,Assessments, Educational,Educational Assessments,Educational Measurements,Examinations, Graduate Records,Graduate Records Examinations,Measurements, Educational
D005194	Family Practice	A medical specialty concerned with the provision of continuing, comprehensive primary health care for the entire family.	Family Practices,Practice, Family,Practices, Family
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001315	Australia	The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.	Canton and Enderbury Islands,Christmas Island,Christmas Island (Australia)