ABSTRACT
What is clinical audit? Clinical audit is all about improving the care that patients receive. It is essentially just a process of self-evaluation - a way of improving patient care and your practice by looking at what you do, then establishing whether you can do it better. It is defined as 'the systematic and critical analysis of the quality of clinical care, including the procedures used for the diagnosis, treatment and care, the associated use of resources and the resulting outcome and quality of life for the patient' (NHS Executive, 1996).
