Rolling Out Electronic Health Record Simulation

Rolling out Electronic Health Record simulation

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are the backbone of modern healthcare, providing accurate, accessible, and secure patient information to support safe and effective care. They enable continuity across settings, improve clinical decision-making, and underpin quality improvement, research, and population health management. For healthcare students, hands-on experience with EHRs is essential to develop skills in clinical documentation, data interpretation, interoperability, and legal compliance. Training ensures future professionals are prepared for integrated, digitally-enabled care and understand the importance of confidentiality and data governance.

Key Benefits for Healthcare Students:

• Improved Clinical Decision-Making
  Training on EHRs helps students learn how to access and interpret patient data accurately, supporting safe prescribing and effective care planning.
• Preparedness for Integrated Care
  Familiarity with EHR systems equips students to work in multidisciplinary teams and navigate shared records across primary and secondary care settings.
• Understanding Data Governance
  Hands-on experience reinforces the importance of confidentiality, secure data handling, and compliance with legal and ethical standards like GDPR.

Over the years we have had the opportunity to provide EHR simulation workshops to healthcare students and helped roll EHR simulation across organisations. We have summarised the learning from some of our engagements as case studies which can be found here.

In this resource, we highlight the general principles to bear in mind when rolling out EHR simulation and core functions that education and training providers should cover when providing EHR simulation for General Practice and Hospital.

Practical Strategies for Introducing EHR simulation

When introducing new technologies for teaching, consider these key principles:

1. Start small and build gradually – Change can feel disruptive, so incremental implementation helps educators and students adapt more comfortably.
2. Empower digital champions – Having 1–2 staff members act as advocates for the technology can make a big difference. They can model best practices, troubleshoot issues, and share success stories to build confidence across the team.
3. Repurpose existing content – Where possible, adapt materials from established programmes rather than starting from scratch. This saves time and reduces resistance by maintaining familiarity.
4. Lead with clear expectations – If you’re in a leadership role, consider mandating the technology’s use in a specific workshop, year group, or teaching unit during the initial rollout. Ensure it’s not tied to progression-critical or high-stakes assessments, so educators and students can experiment without pressure.

Electronic Health Record simulation in General Practice

Healthcare professionals working in general practice rely on GP Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems to deliver safe, efficient, and coordinated care. These systems support a range of essential activities, including:

• Accessing patient records – Reviewing demographic details, medical history, and previous consultations.
• Making clinical records – Documenting patient encounters accurately and comprehensively.
• Issuing medicines – Prescribing both repeat and acute medications in line with clinical guidelines.
• Entering diagnoses (with clinical coding) – Recording diagnoses using standardized coding systems for consistency and reporting.
• Processing clinical documentation – Managing incoming and outgoing documents such as referral letters and discharge summaries.
• Reviewing investigations – Interpreting results from blood tests, imaging, and other diagnostic investigations.
• Communicating with colleagues – Facilitating secure communication within the practice and across care sectors.
• Clinical reporting – Extracting and analysing key clinical and performance data for audits and quality improvement.

Using GP EHR Simulation in Healthcare Education

When incorporating GP EHR simulation into healthcare education, these core functions can be mimicked through realistic clinical case studies. Each case should be mapped to course learning objectives, ensuring that students not only learn how to navigate the system but also understand its role in clinical decision-making and patient safety.

For example:

• A case involving repeat prescription management can align with objectives on medicines optimisation.
• A scenario requiring review of blood results can support learning about interpreting investigations and follow-up planning.
• Activities like entering diagnoses with coding can reinforce understanding of clinical terminology and data quality.
• Clinical reporting exercises can be designed to help students develop skills in quality improvement, clinical audit, and research projects, giving them hands-on experience in analyzing data for service evaluation and patient safety initiatives.

By designing simulation exercises around these core functions, educators can provide students with authentic, practice-based learning experiences that prepare them for real-world clinical environments.

Learning from GP case studies

Below are case studies where we have helped roll out General Practice Electronic Health Record simulation for healthcare students.

• EHR Train the Trainer at the University of Bradford – Faculty of Health studies
• EHR Train the Trainer at Kingston University London – School of Pharmacy
• GP simulation for trainee pharmacists – Various Chains of Community Pharmacies
• Introduction to General Practice
• GP simulation for undergraduate pharmacy students – University of Bradford

Using Hospital EHR Simulation in Healthcare Education

Hospital Electronic Health Record (EHR) simulation offers a powerful way for education and training providers to prepare students for the realities of modern clinical practice. By integrating EHR simulation into curricula, learners gain hands-on experience in a safe, controlled environment—bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Key Learning Opportunities Through EHR Simulation:

• Patient Admissions: Practice taking accurate drug histories and performing medicines reconciliation.
• Clinical Screening: Develop skills in reviewing patient records during simulated ward rounds.
• Discharge Planning: Understand the workflow and responsibilities involved in safe patient discharge.
• EPMA Familiarity: Explore the structure and purpose of Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration systems.
• Digital Literacy & Safety: Build awareness of the benefits of digital systems and the associated patient safety risks.
• Medicines Optimisation: Learn how to optimise therapy within a digital workflow.
• Pharmacological Knowledge: Apply treatment standards and considerations across core clinical areas such as cardiology, respiratory, endocrinology, gastroenterology, and neurology.
• Specialist Prescribing: Gain confidence in prescribing and screening niche medicines (e.g., oxygen, IV fluids, palliative care, and paediatrics).
• Cybersecurity & Governance: Understand responsibilities around information governance and data security.
• Clinical Safety Standards: Familiarise with digital clinical safety standards (DCB0129 & DCB0160).
• Business Continuity: Appreciate the importance of planning for system downtime and continuity of care.
• Professional Roles & Leadership: Explore the evolving role of hospital pharmacists and opportunities for digital leadership.

Beyond Individual Skills:
Complex cases can be designed for case-based discussions, group studies, and OSCE/clinical assessment scenarios, enabling learners to apply clinical reasoning in realistic contexts.

Learning from hospital case studies

Below are 2 case studies where we have helped roll out hospital Electronic Health Record simulation for healthcare students.

• Hospital simulation for Physicians Associates – University of Bradford
• Introduction to Hospital