Assessing the problem-oriented approach to care delivery.

It is evident that there is wide difference of opinion about the utility of the problem-oriented approach to health care delivery. Review of the literature on the subject suggests that ongoing debate over the merits of the approach has been fueled by incomplete information about important elements of the problem-oriented philosophy. This essay discusses the arguments for and against the approach, attempts to explain how misunderstandings have limited previous efforts to assess the manual problem-oriented record, and suggests implications for the study of both manual and computerized applications of the problem-oriented approach to care delivery.