Electronic Health Records That Support Health Professional Reflective Practice: a Missed Opportunity in Digital Health

Anna Janssen; Judy Kay; Stella Talic; Martin Pusic; Robert J Birnbaum; Rodrigo Cavalcanti; Dragan Gasevic; Tim Shaw

doi:10.1007/s41666-022-00123-0

Electronic Health Records That Support Health Professional Reflective Practice: a Missed Opportunity in Digital Health

J Healthc Inform Res. 2023 Jan 20;6(4):375-384. doi: 10.1007/s41666-022-00123-0. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Anna Janssen¹, Judy Kay², Stella Talic³, Martin Pusic⁴, Robert J Birnbaum⁵, Rodrigo Cavalcanti^{6

7}, Dragan Gasevic⁸, Tim Shaw¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Level 2, Charles Perkins Centre D17, Sydney, NSW Australia.
² Faculty of Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
³ School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC Australia.
⁴ Department of Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA.
⁵ Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA.
⁶ Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada.
⁷ HoPingKong Centre, University Heath Network, Toronto, ON Canada.
⁸ Faculty of Information Technology, Department of Human-Centred Computing and Centre for Learning Analytics at Monash, Monash University, Clayton, VIC Australia.

Abstract

A foundational component of digital health involves collecting and leveraging electronic health data to improve health and wellbeing. One of the central technologies for collecting these data are electronic health records (EHRs). In this commentary, the authors explore intersection between digital health and data-driven reflective practice that is described, including an overview of the role of EHRs underpinning technology innovation in healthcare. Subsequently, they argue that EHRs are a rich but under-utilised source of information on the performance of health professionals and healthcare teams that could be harnessed to support reflective practice and behaviour change. EHRs currently act as systems of data collection, not systems of data engagement and reflection by end users such as health professionals and healthcare organisations. Further consideration should be given to supporting reflective practice by health professionals in the design of EHRs and other clinical information systems.

Keywords: Digital health; Electronic health records; Health informatics; User experience design.

Publication types

Editorial