Quality improvement or clinical audit projects are needed to review patient care processes and make sure practice aligns to required criteria and follows appropriate guidelines. GP surgeries are required to carry out these regularly. In cases where an audit identifies that a change in practice is needed further monitoring and subsequent audits are needed to evaluate the impact of any change made.
Although Audits do not need formal ethical approval within the NHS, you need to be aware of ethical issues that may apply when working with data from patient records.
