Audit: what's in the name?
Medical audit is based on a cyclical model which is ideally suited to operational work that is (1) regularly repeated in similar situations; (2) clearly and directly linked to outcomes; (3) amenable to criteria of quality. The work of public health physicians is both operational (e.g. investigation of outbreaks of communicable disease) and strategic (e.g. health needs assessment). A cyclical model is not appropriate to strategic activity. Evaluation of that activity is essential--but should not be constrained/limited by inappropriate adherence to the audit cycle.
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Yorkshire Regional Health Authority, Harrogate.
D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit; D011634:Public Health