[Primary health care, specialized health care--quality of nurses' reports]

This retrospective study on nurses' reports is based on data from case records upon release of patients from hospital care during the months of May, June and July 1994. The 373 reports evaluated according to defined criteria demonstrated that nurses filled out their reports in a very acceptable manner. Among the observations made, these stand out: 99% of the reports were legible; 97% appraised the patient's necessities; 83% included the name and signature of the nurse; and 90% prescribed patient's health problems, 75% of which were defined as nurses' diagnoses. The high degree by which nurses filled out their reports according to these set criteria led hospital personnel to be able to locate patients quickly, know their basic necessities and provide insight into, or a proposal for, appropriate nursing care.