"Bridging Technology and Care: The Nurse's Role in Hospital Electronic Health Records"

Abstract: The integration of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) into modern healthcare systems has revolutionized patient care, offering improved documentation, streamlined communication, and enhanced quality outcomes. Hospitals globally have adopted EHR systems to improve efficiency, ensure accuracy, and facilitate evidence-based practice. Nurses, as the largest group of healthcare providers, are at the forefront of EHR utilization, documentation, and coordination of care. Their role extends beyond data entry to include ensuring data accuracy, promoting patient safety, facilitating interdisciplinary communication, and using health informatics for clinical decision-making. This review explores the history, evolution, and impact of EHR systems in hospitals, emphasizing the multifaceted role of nurses. It analyzes both the benefits and challenges of EHR adoption, including issues of usability, training, patient privacy, and workload. Furthermore, the article highlights how nurses’ involvement in EHR development, implementation, and evaluation is critical to maximizing its benefits. The findings underline the need for continuous training, user-centered design, and supportive policies to optimize the integration of EHRs in hospital settings. The paper concludes that nurses’ engagement is indispensable in ensuring effective utilization of EHR systems, ultimately contributing to improved patient outcomes, safety, and healthcare efficiency.