Abstract

Problem-oriented medical record (POMR) was first designed by Lawrence Weed to address issues in medical practice that often made it ineffective and prone to errors, e.g. unorganised patient data, neglected problems, and healthcare providers’ challenge to comprehend patients’ complexity. By using the medical record in a more organized and systematic manner, errors could be prevented, healthcare teams could collaborate effectively, and neglect could be reduced. Electronic medical records (EMR) are now widespread and vary greatly in their organization. They may fully adopt POMR organisation, partially adopt it, or ignore it altogether. Over the years, other methods of collecting and storing patient data have been proposed, but there is no universal systematic approach. However, as Weed states in his famous article "Medical Records that Guide and Teach," these changes could lead to "a more positive attitude about the use of computers in medicine." This study aims to systematically review the literature and gather published articles on the application of POMR in electronic medical records, including its development and outcomes evaluation. To date, there has been no review addressing this issue. The review was conducted by three reviewers. The search involved PubMed as the only database. Only articles in English or Portuguese languages and those that involved some application of POMR in EMRs were included. Of the 315 articles that met the inclusion criteria, the titles and abstracts were screened by the three reviewers, and any disagreements were resolved during team meetings. The full articles were randomly assigned to each reviewer for evaluation. The review is still ongoing. The presentation will showcase the methods and preliminary results of the review, provide an overall discussion on the applications of POMR in EMRs, and highlight research gaps that may require further attention.