The problem list was designed to be one of the most useful tools in clinical care – a quick, reliable snapshot of a patient’s health. But for many organizations, it’s become the opposite: cluttered, inconsistent, and often ignored.
In a recent webinar, IMO Health leaders explored why the problem list falls short today – and what healthcare organizations can do to fix it in ways clinicians will actually adopt.
Click the button below to watch the full webinar on-demand or keep scrolling for a list of key takeaways.
Why the problem list still matters
At its core, the problem list is about clarity. As Dr. Steven Rube, MD, FAMIA, Chief Clinical Officer, shared, it was once a simple but powerful tool:
That clarity is critical not just for clinician efficiency, but also for patient safety. Incomplete or inaccurate problem lists can lead to missed diagnoses, medication errors, and poor clinical decisions. They also affect downstream functions – from analytics to reimbursement – where accurate documentation is essential.
What went wrong
With the shift to electronic health records (EHRs), problem lists became cluttered with duplicates, outdated conditions, and inconsistent levels of detail. Over time, many clinicians stopped trusting them altogether.
As Rube noted:
This breakdown is risky. When clinicians can’t rely on the problem list, it stops serving its primary purpose as a clinical decision-making tool.
Governance alone isn’t enough
Most organizations recognize the issue and try to address it through governance policies. But policy without usability doesn’t work.
David Arco, Product Strategy Director, emphasized that even strong governance frameworks fail without the right tools in clinicians’ workflows:
Clinicians don’t lack motivation – they lack time. So, any solution must make it easier, not harder, to maintain a clean and accurate problem list.
What actually works
To address these challenges, the webinar emphasized a practical, two-part approach that balances usability with long-term data quality:
1. Improve how the problem list is displayed
Organizing problems into clinically meaningful categories helps clinicians quickly find what matters. When lists are structured in a way that aligns with how clinicians think, they’re more likely to engage with them.
Importantly, this kind of organization can drive behavior change on its own. When clinicians can easily see duplicates or inconsistencies, they often begin cleaning them up organically, without being told.
2. Improve the content itself
Even a well-organized problem list loses value if the content is inaccurate. Common issues include:
- Duplicate or overlapping problems
- Outdated or resolved conditions
- Missing chronic conditions
Addressing these requires intelligent tools that surface cleanup opportunities and suggest gaps – while keeping the clinician in control.
A more realistic view of problem list ownership
One of the most persistent questions in problem list governance is: who owns it?
According to Rube – everyone:
As he explains, ownership should be shared. Specialists, primary care providers, and care teams all contribute to maintaining different parts of the list, supported by clinical workflows that make that responsibility manageable.
Moving forward
If you take one thing from this webinar, it should be: the problem list isn’t broken – it’s under-supported.
With better organization, smarter tooling, and realistic governance expectations, healthcare organizations can restore the problem list to be a trusted, actionable view of the patient.
