PASCOM (Podiatric Audit of Surgery and Clinical Outcome Measurement) was first launched in the early 1990s with a focus on podiatric surgery in the Midlands region. It was subsequently embraced by the Royal College of Podiatry and rolled out in 2000 to all colleagues in the surgical arena.
In 2010 the College launched the first web based PASCOM system for podiatric surgeons and podiatrists undertaking nail surgery. During 2012 the system was overhauled to allow data collection in all fields of podiatric practice, thus ensuring a comprehensive data collection tool would be available to all members. To support this a comprehensive training manual was created as a resource linked with YouTube based videos to guide users through the platform.
In 2013 there was a drive as part of the vision of the Royal College of Podiatry to embed clinical audit and outcome measurement in practice and the working party undertook a radical review of both the content and layout of the system. The aim was to ensure the tool enabled clinical audit of all aspects of podiatric practice. Over the years many members of the College have contributed to the system we have today. It is hoped that all podiatrists will want to use this tool to improve patient care and help to develop the basis for how we promote, educate and learn about the benefits of podiatric practice in the UK and beyond.
Please embrace PASCOM-10 within you own practice whether you are in private practice or work with the NHS. I hope all podiatrists will agree this has been a wonderful piece of collaborative work and I hope the members will avail themselves of its’ many opportunities.
January 2022