School-aged children spend around 1,080 hr at school each year and many of them have chronic diseases; therefore, it is imperative to include school nurses as part of the health care team. Care coordination between health care providers and school nurses is currently hindered by communication that relies on an inadequate system of fax, phone, and traditional mail. Using electronic health records (EHRs) to link school nurses and health care systems is usually limited in scope despite EHRs advancement in these health care systems. No literature is currently available showing the number of hospitals and health care systems that provide EHR access to school nurses. The purpose of this article was to present a literature review on EHR access for school nurses nationally. This review along with the legal and logistical considerations for this type of implementation will be discussed.
Keywords: care coordination; electronic health records; electronic medical records; school nursing.