Understanding Nursing Practice in the Age of the Electronic Health Record
Date
2024
Authors
Dawson, Naomi
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Victoria
Abstract
Electronic health records (EHR) have been increasingly implemented in Canadian hospitals. Often, EHRs are optimistically presented as a solution to optimize safe patient care through improved access to information and streamlined documentation. However, in practice, the implementation and use of EHRs is not without skepticism. To understand how EHRs are influencing hospital nursing practice, a systematic literature review of published time-motion and ethnographic studies focused on EHR use in acute care nursing practice was conducted. Drawing on a conception of nurses' work as involving a significant component of indirect patient care, or management of patient care trajectories (Allen, 2014), we synthesized key research findings from selected studies. These findings challenge common misconceptions about the EHR and elucidate how nursing practice is transformed.
Description
Keywords
Electronic Health Record (EHR), nursing practice, hospital nurses, acute care, Electronic Medical Record (EMR)