In each of the above examples, a marginally raised blood pressure would have a markedly different meaning. The POMR only gives a crude measure of the state of a problem. In the real world, however, problems tend to go in cycles. Different clinicians, and indeed anyone with the right to view the clinical record, need different amounts of information from the record as well as different views. A Consultant Anaesthetist looking at a record in Intensive Care would need to see all 127 blood gases done since admission.
Some problems are complex and hence difficult to read.
Those with few entries are conversely easy to read. Hence the problem of 'drowning in data' that the POMR is meant to avoid comes to the fore again. Thus it can be seen that, although the POMR is a popular medium for data entry and viewing, there is certainly room for improvement and development. These developments must be tempered with knowledge of two conflicting pressures. There is a marked reluctance to reduce the amount of time taken in interaction with the patient in favour of entering data onto a computer.