Electronic health record use by nurses in mental health settings: a literature review

Electronic health records are being implemented in mental health clinical environments at an increasingly high rate. The primary clinicians who utilize this technology are nurses and physicians, with nurses constituting the largest user group. Implementing this technology is complex, especially in this unique context. Understanding the previous experiences of mental health nurses who use electronic health records is therefore important as a means of identifying strategies to best implement the technology.

The purpose of this study is to review the literature on electronic health record use by nurses in mental health clinical settings in order to be able to provide recommendations for how this technology can be most effectively introduced.

A literature review was conducted. Ovid/MEDLINE®, PubMed, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature were searched utilizing the following key words: " electronic health record", "electronic medical record", "clinical information system", "mental health", "nursing", and "psychiatry". Studies were screened for inclusion and exclusion criteria by two researchers.

Seven studies were included after duplicates were eliminated, and inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied.

The mental health setting is a unique environment in which special attention needs to be given during technology implementation. As mental health nurses may have less experience and comfort using technology in their practice, more and a longer duration of support during implementation may be required. Additional strategies to support successful EHR use are discussed.