The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is using synthetic data to give researchers and students hands-on experience using the Epic EHR system without risking the privacy and welfare of actual patients.
The university's Institute for Digital Health and Innovation Director Joseph Sanford, MD, said the simulated version of Epic allows medical students to pretend to be attendings. It lets students feel some of the burden or responsibility of making their own choices and how that affects the patient.
"In the simulated environment, we want them to make mistakes, so we have an opportunity to correct those mistakes without risking a patient’s safety," Dr. Sanford said.
It also allows for researchers to see how data is captured in the system and how it is extracted when doing a request or query.
Students previously learned how to use EHR software as a provider by using a second product or open-source software. That did not provide the same experience they will use regularly as professionals, according to the university's news release.