López-Campos, Jose LuisAbad Arranz, MaríaCalero Acuña, CarmenRomero Valero, FernandoAyerbe García, RuthHidalgo Molina, AntonioAguilar Pérez-Grovas, Ricardo IsmaelGarcía Gil, FranciscoCasas Maldonado, FranciscoCaballero Ballesteros, LauraSánchez Palop, MaríaPérez-Tejero, DoloresSegado, AlejandroCalvo Bonachera, JoseHernández Sierra, BárbaraDoménech, AdolfoArroyo Varela, MacarenaGonzález Vargas, FranciscoCruz Rueda, Juan Jose2016-08-082016-08-082015-11-06López-Campos JL, Abad Arranz M, Calero Acuña C, Romero Valero F, Ayerbe García R, Hidalgo Molina A, et al. Clinical Audits in Outpatient Clinics for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Methodological Considerations and Workflow. PLoS ONE. 2015; 10(11):e0141856http://hdl.handle.net/10668/2315Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't;OBJECTIVES Previous clinical audits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have provided valuable information on the clinical care delivered to patients admitted to medical wards because of COPD exacerbations. However, clinical audits of COPD in an outpatient setting are scarce and no methodological guidelines are currently available. Based on our previous experience, herein we describe a clinical audit for COPD patients in specialized outpatient clinics with the overall goal of establishing a potential methodological workflow. METHODS A pilot clinical audit of COPD patients referred to respiratory outpatient clinics in the region of Andalusia, Spain (over 8 million inhabitants), was performed. The audit took place between October 2013 and September 2014, and 10 centers (20% of all public hospitals) were invited to participate. Cases with an established diagnosis of COPD based on risk factors, clinical symptoms, and a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 0.70 were deemed eligible. The usefulness of formally scheduled regular follow-up visits was assessed. Two different databases (resources and clinical database) were constructed. Assessments were planned over a year divided by 4 three-month periods, with the goal of determining seasonal-related changes. Exacerbations and survival served as the main endpoints. CONCLUSIONS This paper describes a methodological framework for conducting a clinical audit of COPD patients in an outpatient setting. Results from such audits can guide health information systems development and implementation in real-world settings.enAndalucíaInstituciones de atención ambulatoriaAuditoría clínicaRecolección de datosHumanosEnfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónicaFlujo de trabajoMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Services Administration::Organization and Administration::Management Audit::BenchmarkingMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Services Administration::Quality of Health Care::Quality Assurance, Health Care::Clinical AuditMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Investigative Techniques::Epidemiologic Methods::Data CollectionMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::HumansMedical Subject Headings::Information Science::Information Science::Computing Methodologies::Computer Systems::Computer Communication Networks::InternetMedical Subject Headings::Check Tags::MaleMedical Subject Headings::Diseases::Respiratory Tract Diseases::Lung Diseases::Lung Diseases, Obstructive::Pulmonary Disease, Chronic ObstructiveMedical Subject Headings::Information Science::Information Science::Systems Analysis::WorkflowMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services::Health Facilities::Ambulatory Care FacilitiesMedical Subject Headings::Geographicals::Geographic Locations::Europe::SpainMedical Subject Headings::Check Tags::Femaleresearch article26544556open access10.1371/journal.pone.01418561932-6203PMC4636163