Inpatient behavioral assessment with a problem-oriented psychiatric logbook

Program evaluation and quality control concerns in psychiatry have promptedexamination of record systems. Traditional records have been criticized for ambiguity, unreliability, and lack of organization, consequently increasing interest in the more systematic problem-oriented record (POR). However, there are few data-based evaluations demonstrating the superiority of a problem-oriented approach to psychiatric records. This paper presents an empirical evaluation of a psychiatric POR logbook contrasted with traditional recording procedures and routines on eight inpatient wards. Significantly more relevant problem behaviors were recorded with the POR format. These findings are related to implications for patient management and program evaluation.