EHR vs. EMR: Which Is Better for Your Practice?

As a medical practitioner, you must know that EHR and EMR are two acronyms often used interchangeably in the healthcare industry. Though they’re similar, they have different meanings, and the advantages they offer vary.

EHR stands for electronic health records and is a digital health information record. In contrast, EMR stands for electronic medical records and is a digital version of a chart with patient information. EHR has both a more comprehensive and in-depth coverage than EMR.

In this article, we’ll explore the roles of EHR and EMR in the healthcare industry, their similarities and dissimilarities, and ultimately decide which is better for your practice.

What Are Electronic Health Records (EHR) & Their Role In Healthcare Industry?

In this article, we’ll explore the roles of EHR and EMR in the healthcare industry, their similarities and dissimilarities, and ultimately decide which is better for your practice.

What Are Electronic Health Records (EHR) & Their Role In Healthcare Industry?

Like EHR, an EMR is more than just a substitute for paper records. It is a digital version of a patient’s healthcare chart. It includes all useful patient information like demographic information, diagnoses, medication details, lab results, allergy records, and more.

Complete and proper documentation of a patient’s medical data in EMRs provides appropriate care throughout your healthcare facility. An efficient EMR software stocks and organizes patient data and gives patients access to medical data through online patient portals.

It helps you prescribe medicines and order specific laboratory tests. Also, EMR software allows you to code medical bills more easily with its coding and billing features.

What Are The Similarities Between EHR & EMR?

Generally, both electronic health records (EHR) and electronic medical records (EMR) record a patient’s medical data and ensure a free-and-easy healthcare regime. EHR and EMR can be very helpful for medical practitioners and patients.

Unlike paper-based records, EHR and EMR ensure no mislaying of data and ensure the data is safe and secure as the data is shielded against any kind of natural or manufactured mishap. They both work on cloud technology and provide infinite storage for longer periods.

Further, both EMR and EHR are a one-time charge solution ensuring an all-around cost drop in keeping patient records.

What Are The Differences Between EHR & EMR?

Although the acronyms EHR and EMR are used interchangeably, they vary from each other in more than one way. EHR is comprehensive and mainly consists of information like diagnoses, immunization calendars, lab reports, imaging records, allergy records, demographic data, insurance records, etc.

Further, EHR can be shared with other medical practitioners across health organizations. EHR allows patients to schedule their appointments and simplifies the workflow.

On the other hand, EMR is a pruned version of EHR with relevant information related to an individual patient. It only deals with a patient’s medical record and treatments with a particular medical practitioner and is not meant to be shared.

EMR keeps a trail of data and impending patient checkups and observes the patient’s health status.

Which Is Better For Your Practice Between EHR & EMR Software?

EHR and EMR are similar applications with different capabilities. While EMRs are digital versions of paper charts that are concentrated on medical diagnosis and treatment. EHR refers to a patient’s all-around health status, not just medical inquiries revealed by diagnosis and lab test results.

Further, information in EMR doesn’t travel easily out of your healthcare facility. The patient’s record might even have to be printed and provided to other members of the healthcare team or medical practitioners beyond your healthcare facility. In that respect, EMRs are not more useful than paper-based records.

Whereas EHR can be shared with other healthcare providers, such as labs and practitioners. EHR contains information from all the medical practitioners involved in the patient’s care. Hence, using an EHR enhances the quality of healthcare treatment and patient fulfillment, whereas using an EMR may only do the former.

Therefore, using efficient EHR software that has been accredited is a smart pick if your healthcare practice has to convey information to other medical practitioners routinely. For instance, it is very useful for every patient to have EHR if your medical practice frequently advises patients for tests or consultations with practitioners outside of your healthcare facility.

On the other hand, if your practice is independent and only devoted to treating a certain medical situation, an EMR might be a straightforward and reasonable addition to the array of information systems you now use to manage your practice.

The End Note

Picking healthcare software is challenging and time-consuming. However, getting recommendations from those who will directly use the software is a great method to decide which software between EHR and EMR you’ll need. It’s important to consider your healthcare facility’s exact purposes and needs.

To know more about EHR and EMR software for your clinic, get in touch with HealthPlix. We provide digital tools to practice online and improve patient outcomes and are trusted by 10000+ medics across 16 specialties. Our assistive artificial intelligence-powered EMR and EHR software can help you prepare prescriptions quickly and in various languages.