Aspects of audit. 5: Looking forward to audit.

Whatever the misgivings of individual doctors, the formal support being given by professional bodies suggests that medical audit will become established in Britain. It is therefore appropriate to heed the advice of pioneers in the field in choosing methods and topics for audit. Practical problems can be anticipated because of the inadequacy of medical records, retrieval systems, and comparable information on practice patterns and evaluation of traditional processes of patient care. The criterion system of audit may provide a common standard for effective review. This can be used for any group of patients with some characteristic in common. It requires good records and a good records staff. Whatever method is adopted, central support should come from the royal colleges, with community physicians and clinical tutors assisting clinicians at the local level.