In this Medscape piece, Art Papier, M.D., looks at the career and views of the late Lawrence Weed, M.D., the father of the Problem-Oriented Medical Record (POMR) and SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan) note format.
Dr. Papier notes that “very few physicians today understand why the SOAP format and Problem List were invented and how they are an architecture to guide thinking and care.”
Dr. Weed “realized that a record organized around patient problems could guide diagnostic and critical thinking. He traveled across the United States evangelizing for a universal structure to medical records, and in doing so, he changed medicine.”
To read Dr. Papier’s tribute, please hit this link.
