A Source-oriented medical record (SOMR) is a type of charting done in which each healthcare group keeps data on its own separate form. There are sections designed for nurses, physicians, lab, x-ray, etc.  One major advantage of this type of charting is that each discipline can easily find and chart pertinent data.  One major disadvantage of this type of charting is that charting fragments data which makes it difficult to track problems chronologically with input from different groups of professionals.

Typically this type of charting is mostly restricted to paper charts and/or is used  in acute/skilled care facilities such as hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.

Furthermore, this type of charting has limited value in the Electronic Medical Record.