title: A comparison of self-report and chart audit in studying resident physician assessment of cardiac risk factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between resident physicians' perceptions of their preventive cardiology practices and a chart audit assessment of their documented services.
  
  
  METHODS
  A criterion standard comparison of two methods used to assess resident physicians' practices: self-report and chart audit.
  
  
  METHODS
  Physician ambulatory care in a residency program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Coronary artery disease (CAD) risk factor assessment was evaluated by self-report for 72 resident physicians and by chart audit of randomly selected records of 544 of their patients who did not have CAD or a debilitating chronic disease during a one-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Measurements of the residents' perceived CAD risk factor assessment practice by self-report, and chart audit assessments of their recorded care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The relationship between self-reported and chart audit assessments of CAD risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chart audit assessment of CAD risk factor management was highly significantly (p < 0.01) lower than self-reported behaviors for evaluation of cigarette smoking, diet, physical activity, stress, plasma cholesterol, blood pressure, and body weight/obesity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three different interpretations of these findings are apparent. 1) Physician self-report is a poor tool for the measurement of clinical behavior, and therefore research of physician behavior should not rely solely on self-reported data; 2) physicians' chart recording of their clinical practice is insufficient to reflect actual care; or 3) neither is an accurate measure of actual practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, CA 90073, USA.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Leaf
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Neighbor
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schaad
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008485:Medical Audit; D012307:Risk Factors; D012650:Self Disclosure