What's the difference between EHR (Electronic Health Records) and EMR (Electronic Medical Records)? They both sound kind of the same. Both are electronic and sound like they deal with the Medical world. And to be honest I have used the terms interchangeably too. I do not think I am the only either that has made this assumption. Check out the graph to the right (from the software advice website). In a review of 300 clinical records systems, 207 vendors market their software as an EMR, while 59 use the term EHR. So even though their system may be an EHR system - they still market it as EMR because that is the term most people relate to. So what IS the difference between them? EMR is system that a physician can use to create and maintain records on a patient. This system is solely for the physician, therefore, the legal record of a patient encounter is owned by the physician. EHR is a way to not only keep records on a patient but have the accessibility to transfer this information to another physician whether in a different office or in a hospital.
Why is this important? Well, in many patient/doctor situations time is of the essence. There may not always be time to print out all the information in your system and fax it to another. In this situation it could take many minutes to even hours if the office is short-staffed or there is a miscommunication on what to send or where to send it to. With an EHR system this lag time is down to seconds. This not only time to you and your staff but most importantly provides a higher level of care to the patient.
Bradford-Scott Data Corporation offers an EHR software system called Intergy EHR (developed by Sage). Not only is the software capable of sending information quickly to other offices but it is also integrated with the Practice Management Software. Check back next week to find out how an integrated Health Care System can save you time and money.
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