Clinical service review--a framework.

Continuous challenge of the way in which healthcare is delivered is one of the features which characterises the current environment for health authorities. As a consequence, managers face the pressure to review their services thoroughly and regularly. Part of the challenge to managers is to examine and define explicitly the role and function of services; to ensure that services are appropriate to the needs of the population; that they are effective in terms of outcome; that they are of high quality; and that they deploy resources in a cost-effective and efficient way. Tracy Hanson and Derek Mowbray show how this can be done.