Jump to page content

Clinical Audit

1 audit per year minimum

In terms of clinical audit the following is a simple guide and the ICGP shall provide more specific guidance and tools for clinical audit in general practice. Audit activities should be focused on the practice of the practitioner and not on the processes. Examples of types of activities can include:

Measurement of individual compliance with guidelines/protocols (one per year). Skills analysis.
Department/practice audit. Directly observed procedures.
Individual practice review. Evaluation of individual risk incidents/complaints.
Patient satisfaction. Medication processes/error.
Peer review.  

Clinical Audit Toolkit

2 guides on clinical audit are available to download below:

  1. ICGP Audit Toolkit
  2. ICGP Short Guide to Audit

Sample Audits

Clinical Audit Podcast

Please click here to view a video presentation on clinical audit. This presentation was delivered at the ICGP Winter Meeting in November 2011. The aim of the presentation is to give you an overview of audit and to provide you with some practical advice for the purpose of your professional competence audit requirements.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this lesson, you should

  • Know the Medical Council requirements with regard to audit.
  • Understand the purpose of clinical audit.
  • Know how to carry out an audit.
  • Be aware of the supports available through the ICGP.

References 

GPIT Resources: Using Practice Software to Carry Out an Audit

One of the key requirements for GPs in order to maintain professional competence with the Medical Council is the completion of a practice audit. Practice management software can assist greatly in this regard especially if the GP has been coding diseases correctly. Even if this has not been done, it is still possible to use the software to identify suitable patients in other ways. Below are instructions for GPs on how to identify patients for an audit project using the main software packages provided by users of these systems.

Documents

 ICGP Short Guide to Audit (ICGP_Audit_short_guide_May_2011.pdf | 156 KB)
 
 ICGP Audit Toolkit (ICGP_Audit_Toolkit_May_2011.pdf | 482 KB)
 
 How to Conduct a Search for ICPC Codes Using Socrates (How_to_conduct_a_search_for_ICPC_codes_Using_Socrates.pdf | 256 KB)
 
 Using Helix Practice Manager to Carry out a Practice Audit (Using_Helix_Practice_Manager_to_carry_out_a_practice_audit.pdf | 181 KB)
 
 Using Socrates to Carry out a Practice Audit (Using_Socrates_to_carry_out_a_practice_audit.pdf | 466 KB)
 
 Using Health One to Carry out a Practice Audit (Using_Health_One_to_carry_out_a_practice_audit.pdf | 501 KB)
 
 COPD Sample Audit (ICGP_Sample_Audit_COPD.pdf | 176 KB)
 
 Warfarin Sample Audit (ICGP_Sample_Audit_Warfarin.pdf | 269 KB)
 
 Benzodiazepine Prescribing Sample Audit (Benzodiazepine_Prescribing_Sample_Audit.pdf | 1.01 MB)