The use of a microcomputer for inpatient audit in an orthopaedic department.

A microcomputer has been used to assist in the inpatient audit of an orthopaedic unit in a district general hospital. The aims were to provide a more detailed, accurate audit, more rapidly than previous manual methods had allowed. The clinical details of 609 patients treated over a 9-month period were fed into the computer and various statistical analyses performed. The results of the audit are presented. The extent to which our aims have been achieved is discussed together with the specific problems encountered with computer hardware, software and organisation of the system.