Abstract

Medical audit is currently the subject of much discussion, but the breadth and intensity of the debate should not obscure the idea of medical audit as ‘basically a process of self-education’ (Shaw, 1980a). The requirements for audit have been summarized as information, resources and willingness to participate (Shaw, 1980b). I have attempted to devise a simple scheme for self-audit in a general psychiatric setting. The acquisition of appropriate information within the resources of ordinary clinical practice was my aim.

Highlights

  • Medical audit is currently the subject of much discussion, but the breadth and intensity of the debate should not obscure the idea of medical audit as 'basically a process of self-education' (Shaw, 1980a)

  • It became clear that the only way to analyse the material was by individual headings; for example how reliable was my diagnosis of depressive illness? the small number of patients limited the usefulness of my data; I could not assess my accuracy in the diagnosis of depressive psychosis, as I had only three patients in this category

  • The modifications needed were only minor and I had no way of knowing whether 7 minor prognosis errors in 22 cases could be regarded as an acceptable level of performance

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Summary

Introduction

Medical audit is currently the subject of much discussion, but the breadth and intensity of the debate should not obscure the idea of medical audit as 'basically a process of self-education' (Shaw, 1980a). The requirements for audit have been summarized as information, resources and willing ness to participate (Shaw, 1980b). I have attempted to devise a simple scheme for self-audit in a general psychiatric setting. The acquisition of appropriate information within the resources of ordinary clinical practice was my aim

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Conclusion

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