Ethical Audit at the CQI

Ethical Audit at the Centre for Quality Improvement: Ensuring that high ethical standards are applied to clinical audit Summary The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Centre for Quality Improvement (CQI) runs a series of national quality improvement programmes and networks. Participating trusts occasionally enquire about whether the subject and methods of data collection by these networks necessitates research ethics approval. The CQI collects data for the purpose of audit and occasionally, for the purpose of service evaluation with a view to service improvement; it does not undertake research. Neither clinical audit nor service evaluation, of the type undertaken by the CQI, require approval from a research ethics committee. However, the Centre is keen to underline its ongoing commitment to conducting its work in a responsible and ethical manner. What is clinical audit? “Clinical audit is a quality improvement process that seeks to improve patient care and outcomes through systematic review of care against explicit criteria and the implementation of change. Aspects of the structure, processes, and outcomes of care are selected and systematically evaluated against each explicit criterion. Where indicated, changes are implemented at an individual, team, or service level and further monitoring is used to confirm improvement in healthcare delivery”. Principles for Best Practice in Clinical Audit, National Institute of Clinical Excellence ...