Clinical audit: still an important tool for improving healthcare.

The use of data to challenge and improve healthcare has a long and distinguished history but has often failed to bring about expected improvements. It has never become fully embedded in clinical practice, probably because data alone are insufficient to drive change. There is now a greater appreciation that changing and improving healthcare requires changing behaviours. Clinical audit remains one of the important tools that can be used to facilitate such change. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.