CLINICAL AUDIT IN-HOSPITAL

Audit within general medicine originated from a review of patient clin ical records. The main effect of such activities was to lead to an imp rovement of documentation and a realisation that audit could be perfor med amicably. Once case note reviews had been established it was usual ly necessary to progress to specific topic review. Such audits require d more input of doctors' time, and to be performed properly needed the support of committed audit staff and limited support from computer te chnology. The primary aim of medical audit is to improve clinical care . Although an important component it is not the primary purpose of aud it to save money.