What advantages and disadvantages of POMR, SOMR, and SOAP charting influence medical records and
why?
POMR (problem oriented medical records) categorizes each of the patient’s problems and explains
findings and treatment plans for all problems. Fragments of data can get lost because of the increased
number of flow sheets.
SOMR (source oriented medical records) categorizes content by the source, like laboratory, radiology,
etc. Just like POMR records can become fragmented which can make it difficult to track problems
chronologically with the information from multiple facilities.
SOAP is a widely used source to obtain information easily and the care is problem focused. With SOAP
maintaining an up-to-date list of problems can take time to review because of all the abbreviations and
the level of ability and consistency between different formats may vary. Some facilities use “E” to
represent evaluation or for education, and they use “R” for response/ revision.
I honestly prefer the SOAP method because it is a widely used method for multiple facilities. You can get
a lot of information about the patient and their life by using the SOAP method.
SOAP is very easy for me
to understand since it has a step-by-step organization.
