The development of a performance indicator to objectively monitor the quality of care provided by an acute pain team

Quality assurance procedures are essential in the maintenance of clinical s tandards in medicine. Conventional analysis techniques have difficulty in d etecting gradual changes over time. Cumulative sum techniques monitor the f requency with which an event occurs and can detect changes in its frequency as soon as they become statistically significant. This study explores the use of cumulative sum techniques to monitor the performance of an acute pai n team in a teaching hospital. It shows that periods of suboptimal performa nce can be readily identified. The prospective use of these techniques in c linical audit may allow the earlier identification and correction of techni cal or organisational problems. These should lead to improvements in patien t care and satisfaction.