Using audit to improve clinical effectiveness

Abstract

CLINICAL audit is a useful method of measuring and improving clinical effectiveness. In 2005, Bradley Viner examined the process as part of his Masters degree course in veterinary general practice and shared some of his findings (In Practice, 2005, vol 27, pp 215-218). He went on to research its application for his PhD, establishing an MSc group to assist with the process. Here, he provides an update gleaned from the results of his research and the work of the group.

Clinical audit in veterinary practice: theory v reality

“…Those changes are implemented, and a re-audit run to see what effect they may have had. (Dunn 2012), while others suggest that due to the lack of pre-existing standards in the veterinary profession, the process should be about creating guidelines to then audit against (Viner 2009). …”

“…Previous articles have highlighted the benefits of carrying out audit (Mosedale 1998;Rayment 2002;Mair and White 2008;Viner 2005Viner , 2009Dunn 2012), with many emphasizing why audit is useful in relation to clinical governance and how it meets requirements set out by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) (RCVS 2014(RCVS , 2015. Undertaking audit shows continual It can also be used to highlight areas where good practice is being undertaken.…”

“…Good guidance has previously been provided in the veterinary literature as to how to conduct clinical audit in veterinary practice (Mosedale 1998;Viner 2009Viner , 2010Viner , 2012Dunn 2012; RCVS Knowledge 2015). These resources go in-depth into how you might conduct audit and the types of topics you might choose.…”

“…Clinical performance can be compared with other vets and practices through benchmarking, and the results of audit can be used to demonstrate how efficient certain clinical services are (Mair and White 2008). Viner (2009) also suggests that clinical audit can increase the confidence of the public in the veterinary profession as well as being used as a tool to increase the income of the practice.…”

“…They advise on how people with specific conditions should be cared for by healthcare providers (NICE, 2015). Viner (2009) suggests that the veterinary audit process should involve the establishment of guidelines to audit against. The development of evidencebased veterinary clinical guidelines is a challenging and detailed process, often involving the creation of the evidence initially and may be difficult for busy vets in practice to do.…”