title: Auditing audit: the cost of the emperor's new clothes.
abstract: Clinical audit is undeniably a theoretically worthwhile and useful activity. A considerable sum of money and large amounts of clinical time have been spent establishing audit activity in the UK. It was promised that audit would be a tool for improving clinical services to patients and yet this has been difficult to verify. This article reviews the costs and potential benefits of audit.
authors.affiliation: Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, Gloucester.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Earnshaw
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit / Q000191:economics*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000191:economics*; D006113:United Kingdom