BACKGROUND: Clinical pathways have been developed to guide evidence-based practice in health care. The documented use of a clinical pathway by clinicians can be measured by chart audit and used effectively as part of the quality improvement process. The application of a rigorous process of collecting data for quality improvement adds further evidence to the quality improvement process. This article describes a chart audit methodology developed and implemented to measure documented compliance with a myocardial infarction clinical pathway used in an acute hospital. CONCLUSION: The results informed a quality improvement process where documented use of the clinical pathway increased from 23 per cent to 58 per cent (p = 0.000). The chart audit methodology described was a key component in this successful quality improvement initiative.
BACKGROUND: Clinical pathways have been developed to guide evidence-based practice in health care. The documented use of a clinical pathway by clinicians can be measured by chart audit and used effectively as part of the quality improvement process. The application of a rigorous process of collecting data for quality improvement adds further evidence to the quality improvement process. This article describes a chart audit methodology developed and implemented to measure documented compliance with a myocardial infarction clinical pathway used in an acute hospital. CONCLUSION: The results informed a quality improvement process where documented use of the clinical pathway increased from 23 per cent to 58 per cent (p = 0.000). The chart audit methodology described was a key component in this successful quality improvement initiative.