CLEVELAND, Ohio –Â The Cleveland Clinic, with help from the Deans’ Roundtable and University Hospitals, has launched an online site to teach nursing students how to use electronic medical records.
Electronic medical records (EMRs), which are like digital file folders where patient information is stored, are helping to change how health care professionals communicate with each other, as well as with patients and their families. For instance, caregivers at the Clinic can access patient electronic records from anywhere there’s a computer and Internet connection. With patient permission, caregivers can electronically share the records.
“Clinical time is precious and should be devoted to learning to provide safe, high-quality care for patients,” said Sarah Sinclair, executive chief nursing officer at the Cleveland Clinic’s Nursing Institute, in a written statement. “Reduction of time in the classroom through provision of online EMR education will allow students to devote their clinical hours to the pursuit of excellent patient care.”
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Courses at Student Nurse Portal were developed by faculty members from Northeast Ohio colleges and universities, as well as information technology experts from the Clinic and University Hospitals. Students of the Deans’ Roundtable member schools will have access to the courses 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“The Student Nurse Portal makes it possible for student nurses to expand their knowledge before coming on board,” Sinclair said. “The blending of online education with shortened classroom instruction will provide high-quality, cost-effective EMR education. This combination will increase patient safety and result in high-quality patient care.”
Nursing faculty at Deans’ Roundtable member schools have been using the portal since Oct. 21. The portal hosts two courses to introduce students to the principles and theories behind the use of EMRs. Future courses will include a simulated EMR, which enables students to apply what they have learned, as well as tutorials on EMR systems that students may encounter at different hospitals.