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Patient/Problem Oriented Medical Record System (PROMIS) Archives

 Collection
Identifier: HMD MS ACC 2018-016

Abstract

UNPROCESSED COLLECTION. Collection of software documentation/programming code, articles, press packet-like handouts given to visitors, grey literature, operating manuals documenting the creation of the POMR System and PROMIS software, one of the early computerized medical records systems and the only one that was patient rather than provider focused. No working software or hardware survives except for a terminal-to-printer interface device.

Dates

  • 1967-1986; 1996-2006

Extent

6.25 Linear Feet (5 boxes)

Creator

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in English

Access Restrictions

Unprocessed collection. Access is restricted. See Reference Librarian for information regarding access.

Copyright and Re-use Information

Donor's copyrights were transferred to the public domain. Contact HMD Reference Staff for information regarding publication rights.

Privacy Information

Archives and manuscript collections may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in any collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications for which the National Library of Medicine assumes no responsibility.

Historical Note

Jan Schultz was a colleague of Larry Weed and the principal software developer and business architect within a team/lab that developed the POMR/PROMIS programming languages, software, hardware, and systems architectures for this early hospital medical records system. was Director of Systems Development for PROMIS Laboratory and a Research Associate in the Department of Medicine as well as an Assistant Professor of Computer Science in the Engineering, Mathematics and Business Administration College of UVM. He planned, coordinated and implemented the evolution of the PROMIS system through four generations of hardware and software. The PROMIS system was a highly interactive, touch screen system that allowed users to manipulate an electronic medical record within the context of a large body of medical knowledge. PROMIS had over 60,000 frames of knowledge within it. The system was architected so that the same core system used to manage patient data could be used by domain experts to maintain and add new medical knowledge. Schultz designed and implemented a high-level, structured programming language, PPL, in which all PROMIS applications were developed as well as designing and implementing the electronic medical record database application. Many of these activities were funded by the federal government and systems were implemented at both the University of Vermont College of Medicine and their teaching hospital as well as a number of primary care sites. The PROMIS system also provided a foundation for some early hypertext systems and Schultz/Weed spun off several businesses dealing with the management of medical records after leaving UVM. Stuart Graves, M.D. was one the Vermont lab's principal medical domain experts.

Collection Summary

Collection of software documentation/programming code, articles, press packet-like handouts given to visitors, grey literature, operating manuals documenting the creation of the POMR System and PROMIS software, one of the early computerized medical records systems and the only one that was patient rather than provider focused. No working software or hardware survives except for a terminal-to-printer interface device.

Abstract

UNPROCESSED COLLECTION. Collection of software documentation/programming code, articles, press packet-like handouts given to visitors, grey literature, operating manuals documenting the creation of the POMR System and PROMIS software, one of the early computerized medical records systems and the only one that was patient rather than provider focused. No working software or hardware survives except for a terminal-to-printer interface device.

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Provenance

Gift, Jan Schultz and Stuart Graves, 10/17/2018, Accession #2018-016.

Creator

Title
Finding Aid to the Patient/Problem Oriented Medical Record System Archives, 1967-1986; 1996-2006
Status
Unverified Partial Draft
Author
Derived using MARCedit
Date
Feb. 2019
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English
Edition statement
1.0

Collecting Area Details

Part of the Archives and Modern Manuscripts Collection Collecting Area

Contact:
8600 Rockville Pike
Bldg 38/1E-21, MSC 3819
Bethesda MD 20894 US
1-888-FINDNLM (1-888-346-3656)