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A clinical audit is a survey that examines actual clinical practices against established or desired standards, aiming to improve care and outcomes. It assesses whether practices align with clinical guidelines or benchmarks and provides recommendations for change when discrepancies are found (Skull, 2020). Clinical audits are integral to clinical effectiveness and clinical governance, with a focus on improving standards, as highlighted in the NSQHS Standards, particularly the Clinical Governance Standard and Action 1.08.
This page provides general information about clinical audits. For Monash Health-specific guidance on planning and conducting a clinical audit, visit the Quality & Safety Unit's intranet page or contact your local Quality Partner.
The clinical audit cycle
The diagram below from Skull (2020, p. 2) illustrates the steps involved in conducting a clinical audit.
Image source: Embedding clinical audit into everyday practice: Essential methodology for all clinicians (2020, p. 2) by S. Skull
Monash Health policies & procedures
You may need to complete a Quality Assurance Application before commencing a clinical audit in your unit.
Refer to guidance on the Monash Health Research webpage, including the Quality Assurance/Negligible Risk Research Policy & Procedure.
Quality Assurance and Negligible Risk Projects
The Research Forms Library includes a QA Project Description Template to be used as a project plan/protocol. Click the link below and scroll down to the Quality Assurance and Negligible Risk section.
The Monash Health Research Repository (MHRR) tracks, organises, and promotes the work of Monash Health employees and hospital-based researchers. The repository collects a wide range of research outputs, including journal articles, books and book chapters, conference abstracts and posters, theses and dissertations. It is publicly accessible to a global audience.
The MHRR includes papers which have reported on, or drawn from, the results of clinical audits. Click the button below to search for these papers.
Clinical audit resources
The below articles provide practical overviews of audit methodology.
The Research Education Program at the Child and Adolescent Heath Service (CAHS) in Western Australia has developed a generic Clinical Audit Handbook designed for clinicians and health professional students across all disciplines.
Access the handbook via the link below. The CAHS website will first ask you to complete a brief REDCap survey indicating your discipline, health setting etc.
CAHS - Clinical Audit Handbook
This best practice guide was published by the UK's Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), a joint initiative of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and the Royal College of Nursing. HQIP partners with the NHS.
HQIP - Best Practice in Clinical Audit
HQIP has also published a manual designed for lay members involved in clinical audits.
HQIP - A manual for lay members
Clinical Excellence Queensland has developed audit tools to support audit activities related to the NSQHS Standards. For each Standard, the CEC offers a how-to guide, definition sheet to assist with using the tools, and measurement plan summaries.
This guide from University Hospitals Bristol provides step-by-step advice on sharing the findings of a clinical audit via a.) a written report and b.) a verbal/slide presentation.
NHS - How to: Share your findings
This guide by the UK's Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) includes tips on preparing a clinical audit poster (p. 10) and a clinical audit report template (p. 11 onward) with descriptions and examples for each section.
HQIP - Documenting local clinical audit
Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE) offers clinical audit resources including a report template for Word.
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