Documentation of Suicide Risk Assessment in Clinical Records

In this letter to the editor, the authors report on a study in which they analyzed the quality of clinical records of patients seen in 4 public university hospitals in Madrid after a suicide attempt. Information about previous suicide attempts was missing from 435 records (44%). Records for first-time attempters were more complete. The authors suggest the use of semistructured screening instruments to improve assessment & thus ensure the implementation of clinical guidelines. (5 refs.)