Comparison of case note review methods for evaluating quality and safety in health care

Objectives: To determine which of two methods of case note review – holistic (implicit) and criterion-based (explicit) – provides the most useful and reliable information for quality and safety of care, and the level of agreement within and between groups of health-care professionals when they use the two methods to review the same record. To explore the process–outcome relationship between holistic and criterion-based quality-of-care measures and hospital-level outcome indicators. © 2010 Crown Copyright