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Clinical governance: its effect on surgery and the surgeon
Author(s) -
Spark James I.,
Rowe Siobhan
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1046/j.1445-2197.2003.02908.x
Subject(s) - clinical governance , medicine , audit , clinical audit , quality assurance , corporate governance , clinical practice , quality (philosophy) , health care , quality management , service (business) , nursing , accounting , management , business , philosophy , external quality assessment , pathology , epistemology , marketing , economics , economic growth
Audit is the process by which clinical staff collectively review, evaluate and improve their clinical practice with the common aim of improving standards. Modern audit has developed from the initial concept promoted in the 1980s and is now part of the concept of clinical governance. Clinical governance is a framework through which health service organizations are accountable for continuously improving the quality of their services. Clinicians have always been accountable for maintaining high quality care; clinical governance merely imposes structure in this and makes it explicit. The features of this are: (i) full participation in audit by all hospital doctors; (ii) support and use evidence‐based practice, including risk management, quality assurance and clinical effectiveness; and (iii) continuing professional development.