A lot of people tend to use “electronic health record” and “electronic medical record” in an interchangeable manner. But there is actually a significant difference between the two terms. For example, the “EMR” term came first. These records were used by doctors and other clinicians for treatment and diagnosis purposes.
On the other hand, “health” refers to being of a sound state of body, mind, and spirit. In other words, EHRs refers to a “broader view” of the patient than a EMR does.
What Exactly is the Difference Between EMR and EHR Software?
EMRs, or electronic medical records, operate as digital charts located in the offices of a clinician. An EMR holds the entire treatment history of a patient while they were part of the practice. An EMR allows clinicians to do the following:
- Identify patients for preventative checkups
- Tracks different types of data over time
- Check in on their patients using certain parameters (blood pressure, vaccinations, etc.)
Unfortunately, EMRs don’t travel nearly as well outside of a clinician’s office. Under certain circumstances, the clinician’s staff may have to print out the records and mail them to another location.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
EHRs, or electronic health records, focus on all of the health aspects of a patient. These records were made to share data with other clinicians. For this reason, they have information from all of the providers that have cared for the patient in the past.
In other words, EHRs go wherever the patient goes. These types of records can be accessed by any member of the patient’s care team. EHRs can even be accessed by the actual patient.
While the major difference between electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs) is just one particular word, there is a ton of difference in those two phrases. EMR and EHR software combine the best of both worlds by providing an all-in-one solution to healthcare providers all across the health spectrum.
