Abstract
Clinical audit is a powerful tool to improve patient care, experience and outcome. It consists of measuring a clinical outcome or procedure against predefined standards, identifying differences between current practice and the standards, and changing practice where necessary to facilitate meeting the standards, followed by re-audit (the audit cycle). The recently implemented European Council Basic Safety & Standards (BSS) Directive (2013/59/Euratom) emphasises that carrying out clinical audit is compulsory in the EU “in accordance with national requirements”. In 2017, the ESR published a Clinical Audit Tool booklet (Esperanto), consisting of an explanation of clinical audit, guidance on how to start a program in a radiology department, and 17 sample audit templates which could guide departments through the process of performing audits. A sample of key audits from these templates was performed by participating EuroSafe Imaging Star departments as a pilot project, with participants providing feedback on the audit process, and their experience of using the templates. Responses showed that the chosen topics were relevant, the audit process and templates were straightforward and easy to use, and that the audit process was time-efficient. Following this successful pilot, the Audit Tool has been made available for all potential users through the ESR website.Key Points• Clinical audit is the process of assessing one’s practice against defined standards, altering practice if necessary to meet standards, and re-assessing following changes to confirm improvement• Clinical audit should be part of practice in all radiology departments• Under European Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom, clinical audit is compulsory in the EU “in accordance with national requirements”• The ESR has developed a Clinical Audit Tool (Esperanto) to explain the process and guide departments through sample audit templates• This Clinical Audit Tool was successfully piloted in 2017, and is now available to all users on the ESR website
Highlights
As part of clinical governance, healthcare organisations are accountable for continually assessing and, where possible, improving the quality of their services [1]
In the context of the implementation of the Basic Safety Standards Directive, the European Society of Radiology (ESR) works with stakeholders to increase awareness of clinical audit among radiologists and to provide radiology departments with a toolkit to perform audits effectively
Seventeen audit topics were identified for consideration. These focused on radiation protection and patient safety and were felt to be of prime importance in the practice of clinical audit
Summary
As part of clinical governance, healthcare organisations are accountable for continually assessing and, where possible, improving the quality of their services [1]. In the context of the implementation of the Basic Safety Standards Directive, the ESR works with stakeholders to increase awareness of clinical audit among radiologists and to provide radiology departments with a toolkit to perform audits effectively. In preparation for the implementation of this Basic Safety Standards Directive, the ESR Audit & Standards Subcommittee has developed the ESR Clinical Audit Tool This is a set of suggested audits that can be performed, with accompanying templates indicating the steps required to complete each audit, and the information that should be collected and analysed in each case. Concentrating on the key areas of radiation protection and patient safety, 17 key audit topics were described and suggested versions of completed templates were produced for each This pilot project was designed, firstly, to increase awareness of clinical audit.
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