Patient‐centred audit: a users’ quality model Available to Purchase

In the UK healthcare field, audit is currently employed not only in medical and clinical areas, but has also been introduced into the managerial and professional areas. A new approach to audit has been developed as a result of research and is based on a newly‐developed audit instrument which is able to elicit users’ perceptions subsequent to an encounter with a community health service. The paper describes the research process and the development of the instrument now employed in auditing patients’ perceptions of quality. The authors describe the adaptation processes used in order to place the Parasuraman Servqual instrument into the health setting in the UK. The new instrument is currently being operationalised, and the findings of both audits that have been completed thus far are described. The instrument has measured health outcomes from the users’ perspective, and has also highlighted gaps between what the service offers in terms of quality and users’ perceptions of what is actually being delivered.