Abstract
The importance of clinical audit in radiological practice is increasingly recognised and undertaking clinical audit “in accordance with national procedures” is mandatory for radiology departments within the European Union following implementation of the Basic Safety Standard Directive (BSSD), 2013/59/Euratom in 2018.This survey, sent to all National Radiological Societies in Europe in 2018, evaluated the current status of clinical audit at national level and supporting infrastructure, and explored the potential for wider co-operation and collaboration in developing and evaluating clinical audit processes.Responses were received from 36/47 (76.6%) National Societies. Broadly responses indicated an increasing awareness of the importance of clinical audit, but highlighted deficiencies in necessary infrastructure and resources required for enhancement and development of existing clinical audit systems. National Societies are well placed, in the context of appropriate and prioritised resource allocation, to collaborate with other European bodies, in particular the European Society of Radiology (ESR), to help lead on these important changes, with the potential to provide external direction.
Highlights
Clinical audit is a well-established and valuable tool in modern healthcare systems, it is of particular relevance to radiologists due to its incorporation into the Basic Safety Standards Directive (BSSD 2013/59/Euratom) [1]
Clinical audit has an important role in evaluating everyday service provision and clinical practice - regulatory clinical audit is centred around radiation protection and the requirements of the Basic Safety Standard Directive (BSSD), it is a priority for all radiology departments and is compulsory
In addition to developing processes around internal departmental clinical audit, there is a drive to set up European Society of Radiology (ESR) Insights into Imaging (2019) 10:51 national processes of external audit
Summary
Clinical audit is a well-established and valuable tool in modern healthcare systems, it is of particular relevance to radiologists due to its incorporation into the Basic Safety Standards Directive (BSSD 2013/59/Euratom) [1]. In addition to developing processes around internal departmental clinical audit, there is a drive to set up European Society of Radiology (ESR) Insights into Imaging (2019) 10:51 national processes of external audit. This might involve a multidisciplinary external auditing team working with radiology departments to carry out cross-centre external audit. Another option could include internal departmental audit with external direction. National radiological societies would be well placed to provide necessary oversight and co-ordination, recognising the logistic and funding implications involved
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