A practical and economical method of obtaining a patient's past history and system review has been developed. The programmed medical history (PMH) can be used in any physician's office without special equipment. A programmed self-administered questionnaire containing about 935 questions is used. Since branching techniques are employed, a patient who is well might answer as few as 221 questions. Completion time for the patient averages 40 minutes. Patients readily accept the questionnaire. A print-out of all positive information, arranged in traditional format, is made by the secretary in 12 to 20 minutes. The history obtained is of good quality, and only takes the physician a few moments to read. An internist can save from 20 to 25 minutes of his time for each complete workup by using the PMH.