Computerised clinical benefit-cost audit of mental health care I: Theoretical and practical issues

Abstract

Routine audit of clinical outcome and its cost is rarely done because agreed measures are lacking and it takes training and effort. Computerisation of clinical benefit-cost audit can speed the process of data collection, aggregation and analysis. Use of a pilot system of this kind is described over four years, with 550 patients and 63 clinicians. Although many problems had to be overcome in computerising an audit approach already long-familiar to staff in its paper-and-pencil form, use of the pilot computerised audit system still saved time. Results highlighted intriguing issues in clinical benefit-cost audit of mental health care. A new and more robust computerised clinical audit system suitable for dissemination has now been developed.