IMPORTANCE OF MEDICAL AUDIT:

MEDICAL AUDIT: Medical audit is the examination of professional dealings by clinicians & their verification according to the standards or criteria, on the basis of data collected through professional accounting system in hospitals i.e. Medical Records.

Types of medical audit: Internal Audit (Peer Review) Continuously by hospital staff. Abstracting & classifying clinical record and evaluating quality of medical care. Review by practicing physicians. External Audit By outside agency. Periodically tests completeness & accuracy of internal audit. Review by non-medical administrators.

Importance of medical audit: To the patient: Better care as scientific work is kept at highest plane of efficiency. Attending clinician leave nothing undone. Technical staff ensures updating of knowledge &techniques. Diagnostic facilities are up to highest available standards. In patient services ensure prevention of infection &other morbidity. Improvement in total care will Reduce Mortality Rate. To the hospital: Analysis of professional work. Reveals weaknesses, if any. Emphasize points of strength. Ensures improvement in medical practice. Administration gets clear statements of the results produced & can then compare with comparable institutions. The above self-analysis enhances reputation of the hospital.

To the community: Curative members of the community find themselves be treated in accordance with the best medical care. Preventive- systematic examination of individuals, is showing marked results in early diagnosis & prevention of diseases. To the clinician: Increased clinical efficiency by the procedure of medical audit & associated staff conferences. Stimulus for CME. Knowledge of newer modalities of treatment, variations in surgical techniques. Intellectual stimulus. Co-operation & fellowship is promoted. Serves to rouse the clinicians to perform at his/ her best.