Clin Med
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The aim of this study was to examine patients' motivation to participate in the Royal College of Physicians Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (PACES). An exploratory cross-sectional study was performed with data collected via telephone interviews. All patients aged 18+ who participated in PACES at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire in the last two years were invited to take part; 28 patients were interviewed. ⋯ Patients believed that they offered real-life experiences that cannot be provided by actors. The social environment during PACES played a large part in volunteer retention. Recruitment of patient volunteers needs to emphasise the altruistic nature of the role in assisting the learning process for doctors and the subsequent benefit for future patients.
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The National Lung Cancer Audit was developed to improve the quality and outcomes of services for patients with lung cancer, knowing that outcomes vary widely across the UK and are poor compared to other western countries. After five years the audit is capturing approximately 100% of the expected number of incident cases across hospitals in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Jersey. ⋯ These national averages hide wide variations between hospitals providing lung cancer care which cannot be accounted for by differences in casemix. This paper describes the evolution of the audit, and describes the ways in which it may have improved clinical practice.
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The coalition government has set out its stall in a cluster of white paper consultation documents. One theme to emerge is a commitment to monitoring outcomes. ⋯ Clinicians have a duty to improve patient care and measurement and comparison is one of the tools at their disposal. Clinical involvement in the development of metrics and quality indicators is essential for meaningful results and it is vital that clinicians now take ownership of the quality of the clinical data captured on their patients.