Manual for Male Circumcision under Local Anaesthesia

Male circumcision under local anaesthesia
Version 3.1 (Dec09)
What are “good data”
A monitoring system will provide useful information only if the data
recorded are “good”. Clinic managers should ensure that staff are
aware of the following:
• Understanding the data. Staff responsible for keeping records
should know exactly what information is needed, for example,
adverse events associated with male circumcision.
• Recording the data every time. Every time a staff member
performs a procedure, sees a client, prescribes medication,
receives a test result, or makes a referral, it should be recorded on
the appropriate form.
• Recording all the data. All the information requested on the
monitoring forms should be completed. This might require noting
when a particular treatment was not provided.
• Recording the data in the same way every time. The same
definitions, rules, and tests should always be used for reporting the
same piece of information. In the long term, this may not be
possible, as tests and definitions change, treatment evolves and
new technologies are developed. When it is not possible to record
data in the same way, a note should be made describing the
change.
It is not the role of clinicians (surgeons or medical, clinical and nursing
officers) to develop a functional monitoring system for the facility. That
is the role of the health planner or clinic manager. However, the
clinicians need to know who is responsible for the monitoring system,
to record data accurately and reliably, and to know how and when to
report information related to the service or to patients.
Clinicians can also help those responsible for the system by providing
feedback about how the system is working, how information is shared
with other clinicians, and how easy the various forms are for clinicians
to complete accurately and reliably. In this way, the monitoring system
to be as accurate and reliable as possible.
Using monitoring information for intervention-related decisionmaking
In the context of record-keeping and monitoring, information is good
only if it can be used. Data that cannot be used should not be
collected.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Quality assurance is the assessment or measurement of the quality of
care and services and the implementation of any necessary changes
to either maintain or improve the quality of care rendered. Quality
assurance has also been defined as a systematic process for closing
the gap between actual performance and desirable outcomes.
Record keeping, monitoring, evaluation and supervision Chapter 9-4