What should a baseline audit ideally consist of?

A baseline audit is a critical first step in assessing compliance and identifying areas that need improvement in a healthcare setting. The correct answer indicates that an ideal baseline audit should consist of 10-15 records per practitioner because this number strikes a balance between providing a sufficient sample size to analyze trends and practices while still being manageable in terms of time and resources.

Examining 10-15 records allows auditors to gather enough data to make informed judgments about a practitioner's coding accuracy, documentation quality, and potential areas of risk without overwhelming the audit process. This range is typically considered sufficient to represent a practitioner’s overall performance and ensures that any issues identified are reflective of normal practice patterns.

A sample size smaller than 10 records may not adequately reflect the variety of cases and circumstances that a practitioner encounters, making it difficult to draw reliable conclusions. Conversely, opting for 20-25 records could increase workload and time without substantially enhancing the quality of insights gained, which is why 10-15 is regarded as optimal for baseline auditing.

Including only completed surgeries would not provide a comprehensive view of a practitioner’s overall performance, as it would exclude a significant portion of their work, leading to an incomplete assessment. Thus, the selection of 10-15 records allows