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World J Nephrol. Nov 6, 2014; 3(4): 249-255
Published online Nov 6, 2014. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v3.i4.249
Published online Nov 6, 2014. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v3.i4.249
Clinical audit, a valuable tool to improve quality of care: General methodology and applications in nephrology
Pasquale Esposito, Antonio Dal Canton, Unit of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo and University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Author contributions: Esposito P and Dal Canton A contributed to this paper in: (1) conception and design, acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data; and (2) drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual content; all authors approved this version to be published.
Correspondence to: Pasquale Esposito, MD, PhD, Unit of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo and University of Pavia, Piazzale Golgi 19, 27100 Pavia, Italy. pasqualeesposito@hotmail.com
Telephone: +39-03-82503883 Fax: +39-03-82503883
Received: June 13, 2014
Revised: August 1, 2014
Accepted: September 4, 2014
Published online: November 6, 2014
Processing time: 147 Days and 14.4 Hours
Revised: August 1, 2014
Accepted: September 4, 2014
Published online: November 6, 2014
Processing time: 147 Days and 14.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Clinical audit is a part of the continuous quality improvement process. It consists in measuring a clinical outcome or a process against well-defined standards, established using the principles of evidence-based medicine. The comparison between clinical practice and standards leads to the formulation of strategies, in order to improve daily care quality. This review examines the basis of clinical audit and the data about the efficacy of this methodology, focusing on nephrology issues. We think that clinical audit could offer to the modern Nephrologists a useful tool to monitor and advance their clinical practice.