THE RELEVANCE OF HOSPITAL AUDITING IN OPTIMIZING CLINICAL PROCESSES

Abstract

This study focused on the relevance of hospital auditing in optimizing clinical processes and improving the quality of care. It addressed the problem of understanding how hospital auditing contributes to the improvement of internal processes and to strengthening safety and efficiency in healthcare services. The general objective was to analyze the importance of hospital auditing as a management and control tool aimed at the quality of clinical services. This was a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive bibliographic research study, based on books and publications by Brazilian authors on auditing, quality management, and hospital administration. The study addressed the fundamentals of hospital auditing, its relationship with the quality of care, the ethical and legal aspects governing its practice, and the contributions of this activity to the integration and efficiency of services. It was found that auditing plays an essential role in the analysis and improvement of clinical processes, favoring the standardization of procedures, the rational use of resources, and evidence-based decision-making. In the final considerations, it was concluded that hospital auditing is an indispensable tool for quality management and for strengthening patient safety. The need for further studies exploring the integration of auditing with digital hospital management technologies was also recognized, in order to expand knowledge and improve control and evaluation practices in healthcare.