Website of the Department of Health
Please note that this website has a UK government access keys system.
Page menu
You are here:
DH clinical audit policy development
-
Last modified date:17 July 2008
Timescales for the below will be developed in line with the NCAAG work programme
White Paper ‘Trust, Assurance and Safety’ commitments
Clinical audit and revalidation
The Chief Medical Officer’s report, Good doctors, safer patients, and the subsequent White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety, described the potential for audit information to be used more effectively for providing information for patients, for improving services, and for supporting other activities such as revalidation of clinicians.
The purpose of this project is to identify policy options for linking Clinical Audit to Revalidation, specifically to:
- Identify work that is currently underway in this area;
- Consider how DH can get involved and learn from work streams already underway and to develop further stakeholder engagement to work up full policy options; and
- Make recommendations on how to link clinical audit with revalidation, develop guidance and implementation plans.
Audit (and clinical governance) and litigation/indemnity
Good Doctors, Safer Patients, the Chief Medical Officers’ report published in 2006, recommended that the Department of Health should examine whether the quality of local clinical governance and audit processes could be linked to the premiums paid to the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) and the relationship between individual practitioners and the premiums paid by them to medical insurers/protection societies. It was intended this should cover all health professions.
The NHSLA is a Special Health Authority with the primary roles of managing clinical and other liability claims made against NHS organisations in England and promoting good risk management.
The purpose of this project is to identify policy options for linking clinical governance and clinical audit to insurance, specifically to:
- Identify key stakeholders with an interest in insurance premiums and create a steering group to drive policy;
- Undertake a scoping study to understand the context and ramifications of linking clinical audit to insurance premiums; and
- Make recommendations and develop guidance and implementation plans.
Audit and connecting for health/IT
Good Doctors, Safer Patients, the Chief Medical Officer’s report published in 2006, recommended that the Department of Health should examine whether the data required for local clinical governance and audit processes could be linked to IT systems currently being developed by CfH.
The purpose of this project is to identify policy options for linking Clinical Audit to Information Technology, specifically to:
- Identify key stakeholders with an interest in linking Clinical Audit effectively into the development of IT systems and create a steering group to drive policy;
- Undertake a scoping study to understand the context and ramifications of linking clinical audit to IT systems and how this might be achieved effectively; and
- Make recommendations and develop guidance and implementation plans.
Other current policy issues on which NCAAG may be consulted
Long-term funding arrangements for registries and related activities.
There are a number of registries and databases, which hold patient-level data relating to specific techniques, implants or devices; or conditions. These may be hosted in research centres, in specialist societies, or in other settings. For example, MHRA NICE and Healthcare Commission all hold one or more registers [relating to particular implants].
The purpose of this project is to identify policy options for the long term funding arrangements for registries and related activities. Specifically to:
- Identify, funding or a funding mechanism to support the 8 registries previously funded by the R&D directorate of the Department of Health; and
- Consider whether a more general approach to funding for registers and related activities can be agreed for wider dissemination.
Access keys
