ABSTRACT
In mediaeval times medicine was little more than a combination of witchcraft and quackery. Nowadays, doctors receive a scientific training and should use contemporary knowledge to select the best treatments for their patients. As medicine has moved from an art to a science, and as it has consumed a greater proportion of nations’ wealth, politicians and society have demanded that doctors become more accountable. Clinical audit, risk management and evidence-based medicine are mechanisms that have been established to try to ensure that resources are used properly and treatment is effective. They have been introduced so that the ‘quality’ of health care improves, but this commonly-used word must be defined.
