EHR vs EMR: key differences every provider should consider
April 29, 2023
No healthcare provider today would argue against the advantages of keeping digital healthcare records. Both monetary incentives from the government and tangible benefits reported by software adopters have contributed to the popularization of EHR/EMR solutions.
Yet many providers still need to determine the type of solution they should implement and clarify the differences between EHR and EMR systems and their application areas.
Electronic health records (EHR)
contains the complete health history of a patient, shared among healthcare providers of varied specialties, and is primarily used for medical decision-making.
Electronic medical records (EMR)
is essentially a bedside medical chart of a patient used only in a particular medical practice to log the patient’s condition, diagnosis, and treatment over time.
EMR vs EHR: differences and similarities
While both EHR and EMR are used to keep patients’ medical information, they have important distinctions in their functionality and other aspects.
EHR
Stores patients’ demographics, data from RPM devices, medical images, and other information
Integrated with hospital software and patient tools
Shared with other providers and patients
Typically cloud-based
EMR
Practice- or specialist-specific
Records are not shared outside of the practice
Inaccessible to patients
Typically on-premise
Stores patients’ medical records
Complies with security regulations for medical data storage
EHR
EMR
Content
Content
Patient’s full health history, including medical devices readings, notes from nurses and other specialists, medical images, lab results, etc.
Patient’s medical history within a single practice: symptoms, diagnostic procedures, and treatment logs.
Data sharing
Data sharing
Patient data is shared among different practitioners and can be viewed and edited by patients themselves or their caregivers.
Patient data is kept within a particular practice and isn’t shared with other healthcare organizations.
Capabilities
Capabilities
Used to store and manage patients' health, demographic, and insurance information. Can include features for appointment scheduling and analysis of patient conditions.
Used to store and manage patient’s medical information and usually has no other capabilities.
Integrations
Integrations
Often integrated with other healthcare software and third-party analytical and payment apps.
Rarely integrated with other software.
Model of deployment
Model of deployment
More often cloud-based
More often on-premise
Security and compliance
While both systems sufficiently protect patient personal information, EHRs should adhere to more data management regulations as it shares data with other systems.
EHR and EMR use cases: success stories
Itransition collaborated with Triptych Technologies Inc. to bring to life their innovative idea of a next-generation EHR. The solution named Sapiocare doesn’t merely keep medical records but also automates appointment scheduling and billing report generation. The software is also integrated with a system for secure telehealth consultations and equipped with NLP, voice and handwriting recognition, and clinical text analysis solutions for voice-only or smart pen and paper data input. Such rich functionality makes patient data acquisition easier for medical professionals at any point of care and facilitates secure data exchange among them.
Image title: Sapiocare interface: patient details
Data source: itransition.com — Telemedicine-ready EHR
EMRs assisting with oncology treatment
Our team delivered a custom oncology treatment platform that streamlines patient care by providing relevant studies and offering pre-made test sets that help doctors make more data-based decisions. One of the platform’s essential features is integrating multiple electronic medical records through an EHR, which supplies patient medical records for further analysis and treatment planning.
Image title: Oncology treatment platform interface: clinical history
Data source: itransition.com — Oncology treatment platform
Mobile-supported EHR
A cloud-based solutions provider CareCloud delivered a flexible mobile EHR system for a podiatry practitioner Dr. Sandra Lee Franco, who works with assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and patients in offices and hospitals. Previously, patients’ medical information vital for determining their course of treatment had to be manually re-transcribed from their care provider’s charts to Dr. Franco’s EHR, which wasn’t productive. The new mobile EHR solution enables Dr. Franco, her associates, and even patients themselves to manage medical notes in the practice’s main system, speeding up patient charting by 50%.
Image title: CareCloud EHR interface
Data source: carecloud.com — EHR
What should you choose, EHR or EMR?
EHR & EMR advantages
Both EMR and EHR help enhance medical personnel’s efficiency, optimize resources, and improve data security. However, EHR has many exclusive benefits that EMR doesn’t possess, while EMR costs less than EHR.
Common benefits
- Quick medical history access
- Paperwork automation
- Unauthorized access restriction
- Safeguards against data tampering
- Data duplication prevention
- Treatment plan conflicts prevention
EHR benefits
- 24/7 information access
- Easy appointment scheduling
- Better inter-departmental coordination
- Lower care costs
- Streamlined billing
- Faster emergency care
- Improved clinical decisions
- Population engagement and education
- Eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid
Six steps to choose the right EHR/EMR solution
A properly chosen and implemented EMR/EHR system can recover its cost for healthcare providers within 2.5 years after the implementation, while an ill-fitted solution can cause staff burnout, waste of resources and finances, and complicate workflows. We recommend the following six-step guide for selecting the most suitable EMR/EHR software:
1
Understand your needs
Realistically determine the workflows you want to optimize with the help of EMR/EHR and create a list of requirements for the solution’s functionality. Do not opt for a set of “nice to have” features; instead, pick only those relevant to your practice.
2
Choose the type of solution
If your primary goal is to keep your patients’ medical records and you’re not interested in connecting your system to other healthcare software or transforming other clinical workflows, it is easier and cheaper to get an EMR solution.
3
Consider certified EHRs
If you’re a US-based healthcare practitioner, your system should meet basic requirements determined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In other countries, there are similar regulations hospitals must meet to ensure systems’ reliability and security.
4
Research use cases similar to yours
This way, you’ll understand how the particular solutions would work for your organization as well as learn possible challenges and how to mitigate them beforehand.
5
Consider the costs
The cost of EHR and EMR can vary significantly based on the functionality, so while making sure to implement all the necessary features, still keep track of how it fits your budget.
6
Talk to your vendor of choice
At this point, you can request a demo to see the solution in action and estimate how it would fit in with your workflows, discuss the possible customizations and integrations with the vendor, and negotiate training and support conditions.
How to overcome EHR/EMR-related challenges
Electronic health records software has limitations and challenges that can disrupt its adoption and usage. Learn how experts at Itransition eliminate these EMR/EHR implementation barriers.
Challenge
Solution
The healthcare industry has suffered from expensive data breaches in the last few years, and EHRs are among their main targets.
EHRs and EMRs are safer than paper records, but only if the electronic records management software you use is developed according to the industry’s security protocols, standards, and regulations. Besides, a well-implemented data governance strategy helps keep patients' medical histories and other data protected.
EHRs may cause alert fatigue and increase medical professionals’ burnout risks.
This is true for EHRs that overload users with cluttered interfaces or unnecessary features. To prevent this, healthcare providers should choose systems with features most suitable to their particular practice or opt for a custom EHR solution.
In case of a power outage or connectivity disruption, patients’ health history stored in EHR/EMR becomes unreachable.
In such cases, EHR backup on an external server and/or access from devices outside of the facility is critical. Additionally, healthcare organizations should build an appropriate emergency response strategy that includes quick EHR recovery.
EHR vs. EMR: how much does each cost?
According to ONC, electronic health records’ cost ranges between $15,000 and $70,000. However, there are other systems that come at a much lower price: some Allscripts plans start from $150, CareCloud’s basic EHR costs $349, and open-source software comes almost free. At the same time, the price for custom-built EHRs for large enterprises may reach up to $500,000. EMRs are typically cheaper, costing around $500 per month on average.
There are five major factors influencing EHR adoption costs: possible hardware or network updates, deployment model, type and number of features, integration complexity, required personnel training, and post-implementation support services.
Looking for a reliable EMR/EHR implementation partner?
Implementation tips
What’s the difference between a failed and a successful EMR/EHR implementation? A properly implemented system brings numerous business benefits, enhances patients’ and personnel’s satisfaction, and contributes to interoperability in the healthcare industry. In contrast, a poorly implemented system is unprofitable, difficult to use for specialists and confusing for patients, lacks interoperability, and breaks down often.
Medical specialists’ involvement
Workflow mapping
Thorough personnel training
Secure and accurate data migration
Ongoing usability improvements
Clear and detailed implementation roadmap
Successful EHR/EMR implementation
Say goodbye to paper records with EMR or EHR
The difference between EHR and EMR lies primarily in each system’s capabilities and limitations, their compatibility and interoperability with other healthcare software, and their price. Still, they are based on similar technology, and both benefit medical care providers.
When faced with an EHR or EMR choice, healthcare providers should reach out to experts to advise the type of solution most fitting for their practice or even provide further implementation support.
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