EMR vs EHR – What is the difference?
Before we discuss the basic difference between EMR and EHR, let’s look at the definition of EMR and EHR.
What is EMR?
EMR definition:
EMR – short for Electronic Medical record – is a medical chart of a patient in a digital format, which is maintained by the specialist, dentist, physician, clinic or surgeon in a practice.
Here is a detailed article giving you information about Electronic Medical Records, including EMR applications and EMR advantages – What is an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) – Meaning, Applications And Advantages
What is EHR?
EHR definition:
EHR – short for Electronic Health Record – is a health record of a patient in a digital format, which is fed and maintained by authorised clinicians from multiple practices. Therefore, EHR provides collective information of the medical history of a person, in a comprehensive manner. By design, it can be shared with other health organisations, such as hospitals, clinics, and laboratories in a way that it includes information from all the clinicians involved in the patient’s healthcare.
Both EMR and EHR can be used in:
- Hospital management systems or Health management information system (HMIS)
- Lab management systems or Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
- Clinic management systems (including dental clinics) or Practice management system
- Medical store management systems
EMR and EHR Difference
| EMR | EHR |
| In EMR systems, medical records cannot be shared outside the organisation or to another unauthorised laboratory or clinician. | In EHR systems, medical records are streamlined and can be shared between authorised organisations, laboratories and clinicians. |
| EMR is a narrow view of a patient’s medical history. | EHR is a comprehensive report of the patient’s overall health. |
| EMR is fed and maintained by a single hospital, clinic or laboratory. | EHR is fed and maintained by all hospitals, clinics and laboratories involved in the patient’s healthcare. |
| In EMR systems, medical records do not travel beyond the hospital, clinic or laboratory from which it was recorded | In EHR systems, medical records travel across all hospitals, clinics and laboratories along with the patient for a lifetime. |