title: Making a difference to practice: clinical benchmarking. Part 1.
abstract: In the first of two articles, the authors describe how an internal clinical practice benchmarking group was established in Preston to compare and share examples of best practice. The aim was to ensure consistent high standards of care practice across the trust. Activity related to discharge planning and visiting is used here to illustrate the effectiveness of clinical practice benchmarking as a continuous quality improvement tool. The second article will appear in Nursing Standard on May 3.
authors.affiliation: University of Cental Lancashire, Preston.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hadfield
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Onions
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Walmsley
mesh_terms: D019985:Benchmarking / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D004739:England; D006801:Humans; D016294:Models, Nursing; D017146:Models, Organizational; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009738:Nursing Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000592:standards; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration