Validation study on medical recording practices in primary care clinics.

The validity of records of visits to physicians was studied in three primary care clinics in Beersheba, Israel. A wide variation was found between clinics in the completeness of recording and in the proportion of records that could not be found. The results suggest that data on clinic utilization obtained by an analysis of records may be an underestimate. They should be used only if completeness of recording has been tested and found satisfactory.