Audit of patient outcomes after herniorrhaphy

Abstract

The efficacy of a surgical procedure is a measure of outcome when performed by specialists. The monotonous excellence of countless cohort studies bears witness to the efficacy of numerous techniques of herniorrhaphy. Effectiveness, however, is of far greater relevance to health care commissioners than efficacy. Audit is an instrument of effectiveness and can be further developed to study cost-effectiveness where outcomes do not differ greatly.