Logbook Policies

These are the main PBO eLogbook rules for residents, fellows, consultants, and training programs.

Use this page to understand requirements before you start, or to evaluate whether this logbook fits your institution.

How-to steps live in the topic guides. This page covers policy.

Registration and Licenses

Residents and Fellows need an active license to log surgeries and other activities.
Consultants, Training Officers, Accreditors, and Chairs are not required to subscribe.
Chief Residents in an extra year for administrative duties may use the logbook for admin work. They cannot log their own surgeries and are not required to buy a license.

License period

Annual subscriptions are valid for 12 months. Monthly subscriptions renew each month.
When a license is not active, the resident can still view surgeries but cannot log new ones.
The consultant can still rate or verify that resident's surgeries.
Logging of new surgeries resumes after a new license is activated.

Current plans

Annual Subscription — $30 per year
Monthly Subscription — $3 per month

Subscribe from your profile Subscription/License after you sign up. See Pricing for checkout details.

After graduation or termination

Graduated residents can still access their Logbook data without paying.
Logging new entries still requires an active license while you are in training.
PBO maintains the eLogbook for 5 years after the resident's last year.

Logging, Verifying, and Rating

All surgeries must be logged, including type of surgery and consultant-in-charge (CIC).

For steps, see the Surgery Logging Guide.

Deadlines

Log a surgery within 2 weeks of the date it was performed. After that, it cannot be logged. Future dates are not allowed.
If you later edit the performed date, it must stay within 2 weeks of when the entry was first logged.
The CIC has 2 weeks from the date of logging to complete verification and/or rating.
After that 2-week consultant deadline, the logged surgery cannot be rated or verified anymore.

Notifications

The CIC receives an email when a surgery is logged. PBO guidelines also provide for reminders on day 7 and day 13.

What counts

Unverified and unrated surgeries do not count toward the resident's minimum requirements.
They still count as part of the institution census.

Expected finish date

No surgeries may be logged past the resident's expected finish date.
Surgeries logged in the last 2 weeks of that date remain eligible for verification and rating even if the license has expired, as long as they are still within the consultant's 2-week deadline.
Only PBO can change the expected finish date (for a valid residency extension). Inform PBO in writing 1 month before the previous expected finish date.

Editing and deleting entries

Entries not yet finalized by the consultant can still be revised. All fields can be edited except the consultant-in-charge.
Unfinalized entries may be deleted per PBO policy. Request deletion through your training officer or PBO; do not assume a self-serve Delete button.
Once finalized, the entry cannot be revised. Send revision requests to PBO in writing, endorsed by the consultant-in-charge.

Remaining requirements

A surgical counter is available in Breakdown so residents can see remaining required surgeries. See the Surgery Logging Guide.

GRASIS and OSCAR

All surgeries that require GRASIS and/or OSCAR assessment (as specified by PBO) must be logged for verification and rating.

Log those surgeries within 2 weeks of the date of surgery.
Consultants must rate or verify within 2 weeks of logging.
After that deadline, the surgery is no longer eligible for rating, but it still appears in the census as unverified.

Codes

Use proper ICD-10 and RVS codes. The log form searches by these codes.

Outside cases and additional sites

Surgeries done outside may be logged, verified, and rated only if they are done in an institution with an active MOA with the main training institution.

External additional sites of patient source may be used, but they must not exceed 30% of the total required number of patients.
An additional site can be a tie-up with another institution (for example a public hospital). A PBO-approved MOA must exist between the institutions.
It can also be a hospital network: 2 or more ophthalmology departments under one hospital system of the same name, at different sites. A PBO-approved MOA must exist between those departments.
Consultants from the PBO-accredited unit must supervise and oversee all cases done at the additional site.
Outside missions (charity cases done offsite and not under the hospital system) are not additional sites. Those cases must still be logged.

Matching records

Names, PRC numbers, and email addresses must match across all documents (PBO logbook, PREX scores).

Reports

The eLogbook can generate a PDF of the logbook. Download and print that file if a paper copy is needed.

See Printing Your Surgery Report for steps.

Who May Use the Logbook

Current residents of PBO-accredited training institutions, including residents with extension.
Chief Residents in institutions where that position requires an extra year (admin access only; see licenses above).
Consultants, Training Officers, and Chairs of PBO-accredited training institutions.
Consultants of institutions with an active MOA with training institutions.

PBO-accredited institutions must ensure that only PBO diplomate consultants (as specified in the PBO Annual Report Form) can rate and verify residents' surgeries.

Access by Role

Resident — surgical log.
Consultant — verification and rating.
Chief Resident — list of consultants (assign to their institution), nominating other Chief Residents, and metrics of their institution.
Residency Training Officer — verification of leaves.
Chair and Residency Training Officer — all parts of the logbook of residents of their institution, plus institution metrics.
PBO Board members — all parts of the logbook of all institutions, plus metrics of all institutions.

Data Privacy

PBO and the developer have an MOU outlining data privacy consistent with prevailing laws.
The training institution should have its own data privacy protocol for how patient data is transmitted and protected.
The patient is considered to have consented to having their data used before their information is entered into the logbook.
Use a patient code, not full patient identifiers.
The eLogbook can erase or scrub data if the patient requests it. Contact PBO or your program administrator; this is not a self-serve button in the app.

See the Privacy Policy for the legal privacy statement.

Other Activity Deadlines

These windows apply in the live logbook. Full how-to stays on the topic guides.

OREF requests have a 2-week deadline. See the OREF Guide.
OCEX assessment requests expire in 48 hours. See the OCEX Guide.

PBO eLogbook Help