Electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs) have similarities in function, both enabling healthcare providers to manage patient information, but they can vary in their levels of interoperability and ease of access.
Despite 95% of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries using electronic records, only 18% of patients know how to access their own data online. To understand why this disconnect exists, it helps to understand the tools themselves. In this detailed guide, we will explain EMRs and EHRs, along with some of the differences, and how to choose the best option for your healthcare practice.
What is an Electronic Medical Record (EMR)?
An electronic medical record (EMR) is a digital file containing patient data, held by a single healthcare practice. It contains information such as medical history, diagnoses, medications prescribed, allergies, test results, treatment plans, and consultation notes. This data is inputted and managed within a practice-specific digital system.
What is an Electronic Health Record (EHR)?
Similar to an EMR, an EHR contains patient medical history, as well as any ongoing treatment plans. However, an EHR may contain information from multiple healthcare providers and is easily accessible to relevant medical professionals across different healthcare settings. It is more comprehensive, containing the wider scope of health and well-being services administered to a patient.
Key Differences Between EHRs and EMRs
Both EHRs and EMRs help healthcare providers move away from paper-based records, reducing issues such as illegible handwriting, missing notes, duplicated paperwork, and slow manual filing.
The main difference, then, lies in how those digital records are used. EMRs are primarily designed for use within one practice or organization, while EHRs are built to support wider clinical data sharing across different healthcare providers.
Feature | EMR | EHR |
|---|---|---|
Similarities | ||
Digital patient record | ✓ | ✓ |
Stores key clinical information | ✓ | ✓ |
Helps reduce reliance on paper records | ✓ | ✓ |
Differences | ||
Mainly used within one practice or organization | ✓ | |
Designed for data sharing across providers | ✓ | |
Includes information from multiple care settings | ✓ | |
Supports faster access across authorised care teams | ✓ | |
Provides a more comprehensive view of the patient journey | ✓ |
Benefits of EHRs
As of 2024, 95% of office-based healthcare providers in the United States use EHRs, according to a National Electronic Health Records survey. This is unsurprising, given the wealth of benefits that come with consolidating health records into one connected system. Some of these include:
Data accuracy
Data exchange tends to be more accurate in EHRs, as healthcare providers that use EHRs can input and manage patient data in the same place. This prevents data omissions: for instance, if an individual receives additional vaccinations at a private travel clinic, this will be included in their pre-existing vaccination record that their family doctor can also access.
Faster access
With an EMR, it takes substantial effort on behalf of healthcare professionals or patients themselves to transfer information to other healthcare providers when required. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology states that EHRs, on the other hand, provide the potential for “instant distribution” of patient information.
Stronger patient care
Many modern EHR systems include alerts for allergies, drug interactions, and abnormal results that might otherwise be missed in an EMR. This can improve patient outcomes when they are accessing care from multiple different healthcare providers. Take a patient receiving treatment for depression from a psychiatrist, for example. If their primary care physician has prescribed a painkiller that carries a known interaction risk with certain antidepressants, the EHR alert system can flag the potential conflict before the prescription is filled, preventing a serious and avoidable complication.
Patient satisfaction
A study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research reported a positive increase in patient engagement for healthcare providers that introduced EHRs. This may be because electronic health records help to facilitate patient-centered care, meaning that the individual’s specific needs are kept at the heart of all care decisions. An EHR provides a comprehensive overview that helps healthcare organizations tailor treatment plans while ensuring that the patient is able to easily access their own healthcare information.
Benefits of EMRs
While electronic health records provide more streamlined access to patient data across healthcare providers, there are specific cases where an EMR might be a more appropriate option for you.
More affordable
Electronic medical record systems are typically a more cost-effective option for smaller practices that do not require extensive information access or sharing. For example, a small physiotherapy clinic is unlikely to require extensive records of vaccinations or medications in order to recommend physiotherapy exercises.
Less complex
For a medical doctor responsible for prescribing medication, any and all additional information relating to medical history, reactions, and allergies is valuable. For some allied health practitioners, this data may not be relevant and could overcomplicate what is an otherwise straightforward administration process.
EHR and EMR Systems: How to Choose the Right One
There are so many different EMR and EHR software providers out there that it might be difficult to know where to begin. To help simplify the decision-making process and increase the chances of investing in the best fit for your practice, it’s worth considering the following.
1. Assess practice data sharing needs.
Start by considering how often your practice needs to share patient information with external providers, such as hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories, specialists, or referral partners. If your care model depends on multiple teams accessing and updating the same patient information, an EHR is likely to be the more suitable option.
For example, Southwest Behavioral Health Center chose AxiomEHR after struggling with disconnected tools for telehealth, internal communication, and client document sharing across 6 sites. By moving to a more unified EHR system, they were able to streamline scheduling and maintain documentation in one place.
2. Consider practice size and complexity.
The right system will depend heavily on the size, structure, and complexity of your organization. A solo practitioner or small private clinic may only need an EMR that provides a straightforward system for internal records, while a multi-site healthcare provider tends to leverage EHR for more advanced workflows, reporting, permissions, and coordination features.
3. Review features and integrations.
Before choosing, make a list of the features your practice needs now and the features it may need in the future. This could include clinical notes, e-prescribing, appointment scheduling, billing, telehealth, patient portals, lab integrations, reporting, and interoperability with other healthcare systems you already use.
It is also worth looking at whether the software can support more specific workflows for your sector. Service Access & Management Inc. (SAM) did this well by implementing AxiomEHR, using features like dynamic form-building and intelligent automation to improve caseload management and improve patient care.
4. Check staff training requirements.
Even the most advanced system can cause delays if staff find it difficult to use. In light of this, be sure to look for a provider that offers a clear onboarding process, intuitive workflows, accessible training resources, and reliable support—both during and after implementation. This is particularly important if your team is moving away from older technology or paper-based processes.
5. Compare security and data protection standards.
Any digital health record provider should be able to demonstrate how it protects sensitive patient information. For US healthcare organizations, this will usually include HIPAA compliance. Practices should also consider how permissions are managed internally, especially when different staff members need different levels of access to patient records.
6. Balance long-term value against upfront cost.
It goes without saying that pricing will be a key consideration when you are deciding which EHR software to use. That being said, the lowest-cost system option will not always be the most cost-effective choice over time. An EMR may be more affordable for a smaller practice with limited data-sharing needs, while an EHR may offer better long-term value for organizations that expect to grow, coordinate care across providers, or improve reporting and patient engagement.
Improve Patient Care With AxiomEHR
Choosing between an EMR and EHR ultimately depends on the needs of your practice. If you only need a simple system for internal record keeping, an EMR may be enough. However, if your organization needs faster access to patient data and better coordination across departments, an EHR is likely to offer greater long-term value.
At AxiomEHR, we work to make work easier for clinicians by providing EHR software built for behavioral and integrated care providers. Besides reducing the risk of fragmented data, our software can also be used to simplify billing and support secure telehealth.
There is no need to worry about complicated onboarding, either. We tailor our onboarding process to your practice needs, including providing ongoing support throughout.
To see how AxiomEHR could support your organization, request a demo today.
