Supporting practice-based audit: a price to be paid for collecting data

Area of Science:

• Health economics
• Medical audit
• Primary care management

Background:

• Significant investment in audit support staff by health authorities.
• The cost-effectiveness of using existing practice staff versus external staff for data collection is unknown.
• Understanding the financial implications of data collection for audits is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the costs associated with transposing workload data into computer software for audit.
• To determine the expenses of retrieving chronic disease data from patient records for audit purposes.

Main Methods:

• Four audit support staff recorded data collection times in 12 West Scotland training practices in 1997.
• Time data was used to estimate comparative costs for receptionists and practice nurses.
• Data collection focused on workload metrics and five specific chronic diseases.

Main Results:

• Collecting workload data per 1000 patients cost £5.24 for reception staff, £5.64 for audit support staff, and £9.68 for practice nurses.
• Collecting data per patient with chronic diseases cost £1.48 for reception staff, £1.60 for audit support staff, and £2.74 for practice nurses.
• Reception staff were the most economical option for both types of data collection.

Conclusions:

• The cost of data collection for audits is highly dependent on the staff performing the task.
• Healthcare practices should carefully consider staff allocation to optimize data collection costs.
• Choosing the right personnel can lead to significant financial savings in audit processes.