title: Quality assurance in an ear, nose and throat department in Saudi Arabia. A surgical audit.
abstract: Quality assurance (QA) in health care is being introduced in developing countries also. However, QA still meets resistance from some clinicians. A prospective voluntary surgical audit was set up in the ENT department of a university teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia. Roles, responsibilities and objectives were defined and designated facilities were provided. There were 2125 admissions and 2389 operations in a 3-yr period. The stated objectives were achieved concerning resource management, post-graduate training, and, especially, the successful establishment of surgical audit as an on-going and open-forum activity in a developing country. We conclude that other clinicians can feel encouraged by our positive experience and implement QA.
authors.affiliation: King Fahd Hospital, University Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ashoor
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wosornu
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: al-Azizi
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008485:Medical Audit / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010038:Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D010343:Patient Admission; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D013503:Surgery Department, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D016526:Workload