Evaluation of dental record keeping at Hamdard university dental hospital

An audit was conducted at Hamdard University Dental Hospital to assess the standard of clinical record keeping by undergraduate dental students, house officers and faculty members. Objective of this audit was to improve the quality of care of patients treated by the staff and students

100 hospital notes were audited for this purpose. These records were randomly selected from the record room at HUDH. CRABEL score was used for assessing the quality of these notes

Ten variables were measured in our study. Data analysis was done on SPSS version 16. Descriptive statistics were performed. Mean CRABEL score was found to be 50

94% of the notes had readable writing. 87% of the clinical notes did not mention the chief complaint of the patient. 98% of the clinical notes had no mention of consent in them, while 43% of the clinical notes did not mention the investigations performed. These inferences clearly suggest that the current standards of clinical notes need considerable improvements. Further studies are planned in the future after addressing the present deficiencies

Awareness, knowledge and practice of evidence-based dentistry amongest dentists in Karachi

The purpose of this study was to determine the understanding, awareness and practice of Evidence Based Dentistry [EBD] amongst dentists working at dental colleges in Karachi. Total participants in this study were 200 who were randomly selected from different dental colleges in Karachi. Participants completed a pre-tested self administered questionnaire. 87% of the participants were graduates and were either trainees or had completed post-graduation. Data analysis was done by SPSS version 16. One-way ANOVA was applied. P- value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Only 23% of the participants reported that they always practiced Evidence based dentistry. Lack of training on EBD was considered as a barrier to Evidence Based Dentistry and the second most common cause reported was lack of access to resources. Majority of the participants 69% were not taught or trained earlier to practice Evidence Based Dentistry. Interestingly 87% of the participants showed their willingness to be trained for Evidence-Based Dentistry. With respect to barriers in EBD Education level [0.018] and field of specialty of dentist [0.014] were found to be statistically significant. Therefore more emphasis should be given in training students as well as faculty members in Evidence Based Dentistry. It should also be ensured that all possible resources for accessing current dental research should be provided in Dental colleges