Assessment of Optometric Documentation Practices in Private Eye Clinics in Kano State

Accurate and comprehensive clinical documentation is a cornerstone of quality optometric care, supporting clinical decision-making, patient continuity, professional accountability, and legal compliance. This study assesses the quality of clinical documentation practices in private optometry clinics in Kano State, North West Nigeria. A cross-sectional audit design will be used, reviewing patient records from 180 consecutive cases across 12 registered private optometry clinics in the Kano metropolitan area. Documentation quality will be evaluated against a standardized checklist covering completeness of case history, visual acuity recording, refraction data, ocular health examination findings, diagnosis, and follow-up instructions. Structured questionnaires will also be administered to clinic managers to assess record storage systems and awareness of documentation standards. Data analysis will involve descriptive statistics and scores ranked by clinic category. The study expects to find widespread deficiencies in documentation completeness, particularly in ocular health examination recording and patient follow-up instructions. Findings will be presented to the Nigerian Optometric Association's North West chapter and ODORBN to guide the development of a minimum documentation standard for Nigerian optometry clinics. This research reinforces professional accountability in private optometry practice in Nigeria's North West zone and provides a benchmark for ongoing quality assurance in clinical record keeping. Keywords: clinical documentation, private eye clinics, Kano State, optometric records, quality assurance