Audit of dental practice record-keeping: a PCT-coordinated clinical audit by Worcestershire dentists

A collaborative audit of clinical record-keeping standards was performed among Worcestershire dentists.

Its aims were to improve the quality of National Health Service (NHS) patient care and to assist dentists to perform well during Dental Reference Service practice visits.

Worcestershire dentists with NHS contracts were invited to take part in this audit. Each dentist audited a random selection of 30 of their dental clinical records against a common framework comprising eight domains. Record-keeping, and the presence or absence of key diagnostic and treatment planning details were recorded. Grading was applied in four categories, in which grades 1 and 2 were good (1) and adequate (2), captured on data-collection sheets and centrally analysed for frequency of each grade.

Out of a total of 184 Worcestershire general dental practitioners, 161 (87.5%) submitted usable responses. The audit revealed wide variation between dentists in clinical record-keeping. The recording of soft tissues (36% below grade 2), periodontal status (30%), radiographic review (27%), and note-taking (25%) all fell below the standard that had been set (brackets show proportion not meeting the standard).

The results provided baseline information about the standard of record-keeping in NHS dental practices in Worcestershire. The collaborative nature of the audit enabled dissemination of individual results to participants, to facilitate comparison (anonymously) against their peers. The audit provided impetus for the Primary Care Trust (PCT) to arrange postgraduate education on record-keeping and to raise awareness among local dentists about record-keeping. The subsequent report to dentists explored the record-keeping standards expected during practice inspections undertaken by the Dental Reference Service. Worcestershire PCT's method of collaborative dental audit could potentially replace the previous national programme of dental audit, formerly coordinated locally.