Clinical Audit in General Surgery Available to Purchase

Clinical audit in general surgery has been characterised by the early use of information technology to assist in the gathering of useful clinical data. Such an approach allows the study of accurate information on workload patterns and complication rates to influence the direction which audit takes and to direct the enthusiasm of the group towards locally relevant factors, modification of which can yield early benefits to patients. Audit of general surgery should cover a broad view of all aspects of the provision of surgical care, because deficiencies in the service affect access to care, the process and outcome of care as well as the need for more effective use of limited resources. The benefits to the patient of clinical audit and its inherent educational value are already apparent.