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A repeated criterion-based audit of radiographic usage by a paediatric dentistry unit
1Unit of Paediatric Dentistry, University Dental Hospital of Manchester, UK.
Aims:
To report a simple clinical audit which was conducted within a single hospital paediatric dental unit and to demonstrate the potential value of such small-scale projects.
Design:
A criterion-based audit of radiographic practice which was repeated after 3 years in order to evaluate changes.
Setting:
Six 1 hour meetings of an audit group consisting of the staff and postgraduate students of the Unit.
Sample And Methods:
Various aspects of radiographic usage were quantitatively assessed using a sample of patient records and a pre-planned check list to assess the extent to which agreed good-practice criteria were being met. The initial audit identified areas for improvement which were addressed before repeating the exercise 3 years later.
Results:
Clinical note-keeping to accompany radiographic examinations was found to be the least satisfactory area of practice. When the exercise was repeated, encouraging improvements were demonstrated.
Conclusions:
The audit was worthwhile because it appeared to produce improvements in standards of patient care.