Established practice
Clinical audit and research is consuming consultant time that should be spent on patients
Manual data collection for audit, outcome tracking, and research pulls consultants away from clinical work for hours every month. In private practice, every hour diverted from clinical time has a direct revenue cost.
- steps
- 6
- steps
- to start
- 1 hour
- to start
The short answer
Most audit time goes on finding data after the event. Decide the handful of fields you need, capture them at every episode in a template your secretary can complete, and the audit becomes a sort rather than a search. The same data serves your appraisal, your practising privileges review and PHIN.
6 steps
Do it yourself: step by step
0 of 6 done
Write down every audit or outcome request you get in a year: appraisal quality improvement activity, hospital practising privileges review, PHIN, national registries such as the NJR where they apply, and any PROMs
- Time
- 1 hour
- Typical cost
- Free
- Who does it
- You
Done when: One list of every request, its owner and its deadline
This problem is Solvable.
Copy this template
Minimum audit dataset and capture template
Free to copy, adapt and use. No sign-up.
Minimum audit dataset
Consultant: [Your name] Specialty: [Specialty] Sites: [Hospital names] Start date: [Date]
| Field | Options or format | Who enters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient ID (pseudonymised) | Practice number | Secretary | PMS |
| Date of procedure | DD/MM/YYYY | Secretary | Op note |
| Site | [Hospital A] / [Hospital B] | Secretary | Op note |
| Funding | Self-pay / [Insurer] | Secretary | Invoice |
| Procedure | Drop-down of your top 10 | Secretary | Op note |
| Laterality | Left / Right / Bilateral / NA | Secretary | Op note |
| Day case or inpatient | Day / Inpatient | Secretary | Discharge letter |
| Length of stay (nights) | Number | Secretary | Discharge letter |
| Return to theatre within 30 days | Yes / No | Secretary | Hospital extract |
| Readmission within 30 days | Yes / No | Secretary | Hospital extract |
| Complication | None / Minor / Major (your grading) | You | Clinic note |
| PROM before | Score | Secretary | PROM tool |
| PROM after | Score | Secretary | PROM tool |
| Patient feedback received | Yes / No | Secretary | Survey |
Annual report headings
- Activity by procedure and site
- Day case rate and length of stay
- Returns to theatre and readmissions
- Complications by grade
- PROM change
- One quality improvement cycle: what I measured, changed and re-measured
- Reflection for appraisal
Avoid these
Common mistakes
- Collecting data only when a deadline arrives, then searching old notes.
- Capturing 40 fields when 12 would answer every request.
- Doing the data entry yourself when your secretary could do most of it from the op note.
- Keeping audit data in personal email or an unencrypted spreadsheet.
- Producing a different format for appraisal, the hospital and PHIN instead of one standard report.
Free personal check
Done by Paul Robinson, not software
I'll look at how you collect audit data and show you how to capture it once
What I need from you
- Your answers to 7 quick questions
- Your specialty
What you get
- The minimum dataset I would start with
- Who could capture each field
- How to turn it into one annual report
Within 2 working days
No sign-in, no sales call. I read every request myself and reply on WhatsApp.
Free tools
Check where you stand
Benchmarks
Quality improvement activity is one of six types of supporting information doctors must collect and discuss at appraisal for revalidation
GMC guidance on supporting information for revalidation. Appraisal must cover your whole practice, including private work
Source: GMC
2 to 4 days a year spent assembling audit retrospectively
Solvable estimate: assumes 100 to 150 episodes a year at 10 to 15 minutes each to find and collate after the event, plus hospital requests
Solvable estimate
Paul Robinson
14 years in UK private healthcare
I solve this one for consultants
Want a hand? I'll look at your situation and tell you the three things I'd tackle first.
A few quick questions, about two minutes. I read every one myself and usually reply the same day.
No sales call unless you ask for one. Just a straight answer from me.
I reply personally, usually the same day.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can my secretary enter clinical data?
Yes, for factual fields taken from the op note and discharge letter. Keep complication grading and anything needing judgement for yourself.
Will the hospital give me my data?
Many private hospitals will provide your activity, length of stay and readmissions on request, often through the medical director's office. Ask early, as a first extract can take weeks.
Does this count for appraisal?
A full cycle of measure, change and re-measure is a good example of quality improvement activity, one of the six types of supporting information the GMC asks for.
Do I need ethics approval?
Not for audit of your own practice against a standard. Research is different and needs the usual approvals. If unsure, use the Health Research Authority's decision tool.
Where should the data live?
In your practice management system or an encrypted file, pseudonymised where possible, and covered by your ICO registration and privacy notice.
Last reviewed:
Sources
The Solvable community
You're not the only one with this problem.
One problem solved every week, on WhatsApp.
One message a week. No sales messages. Reply STOP any time.