There have been a few rounds of discussion recently about the use of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) for teaching purposes. Most groups that have explored this have simply adapted an existing EMR instance and created a sandbox version of the EMR.

But the problem with sandboxes, real and virtual, is that you have to clean the sh*t out of them!

There would be many powerful educational advantages to having an effective virtual EMR for learners. But we caution groups looking into this that it is a serious mistake to believe that you can make an EMR application behave the way you want. The fundamental architecture of the EMR is not conducive to a good learning environment. You will always be fighting its strengths and lamenting its weaknesses.

We have written a number of technical documents on this. This is probably the most accessible:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283722907_Notes_on_an_EMR_for_Learners

In particular, there are some good reasons on why you should not simply modify an existing EMR for these purposes. See https://drive.google.com/open?id=1d4Yd0iJPUprHPpHa6XCSbv1Kb0w8d5OPuPjjyMiHi2o

We have been successful in adapting our OpenLabyrinth virtual scenario platform as a Virtual EMR, in accordance with some of the principles outlined in our technical paper. We are currently looking for project partners to explore this further. Contact us if you are interested.