The use of problem-oriented medical records in community mental health centers

The authors' questionnaire survey of 147 community mental health centers revealed that 36 (24%) were using problem-oriented medical records (POMR), 34 (23%) planned to use them, 23 (16%) were uncertain and 54 (37%) had no considered using them. According to the responses of centers that were using POMR and the authors' experience, the advantages of POMR in psychiatry are similar to their advantages in other specialties, and the difficulties in implementing this system are related to the definition of "problems."