[Request for a hemogram as a marker of the quality of health care]. / La solicitud del hemograma como indicador de calidad del proceso asistencial.

The evaluation of markers of the health care activity, such as the reason for requesting a peripheral blood count in everyday practice and its inclusion in the clinical record, constitutes an estimate of the quality of care. To this end, we have reviewed the requests of 160 peripheral blood counts in our center during one month. It was found that the request itself and/or its cause had not been mentioned in the clinical record in 32.5% of instances. In the cases where the indication could be ascertained, it was not justified in 58.4%. Overall 72.5% of peripheral blood counts were normal. It was concluded that peripheral blood count is an over-utilized test, while its request is insufficiently recorded. This makes diagnostic decisions and the evaluation of the quality of care difficult.