Is Electronic Health Record Safety a Paradox?

Electronic health records (EHRs) are now the most common method for documenting and communicating patient information, providing the most comprehensive view of patients’ intermittent experiences with the health care delivery system. Although use of EHRs has improved patient safety, the largest area of undesired consequences from EHR use has also involved patient safety: EHR-related errors have resulted in significant patient harm and even death.^1,2 

A recent integrative review of the literature on the impact of EHRs on nurses’ cognitive work provides insights and highlights the impact of EHRs on nursing practice.³  The researchers found that most studies indicated EHRs did not support nurses forming and maintaining an overview of patients.³  Nurses found navigating EHRs to be challenging because of the scattered and fragmented presentation of information; they also experienced difficulty seeing the chronology of events and understanding clinical implications of various data.³  The template-driven...