Patient Medical Information
Electronic Medical Records Versus Electronic Health Records
Many discussions about electronic medical records and electronic health records reference the two terms interchangeably. We examine the differences between electronic medical records and electronic health records.
What's the difference between electronic medical records (EMR) and electronic health records (EHR)?
The two are often referenced as if they were the same thing. In fact, they are quite different.
An emergency medical record is created when a patient visits a healthcare practitioner. It creates a legal record of the clinical services provided. The healthcare practitioner owns the medical record.
In contrast, electronic health records are owned by the patients. They span and encompass the patient's electronic medical records across many healthcare practitioners.
Electronic health records allow patient medical information to move throughout the lifecycle of their medical care, accessible to all care providers.
With this difference in mind, you might note that electronic health records can only exist once all healthcare providers embrace electronic medical records.
The ultimate goal is that electronic health records and electronic medical records are ubiquitous and interoperable. Most experts agree that once this happen, the quality and efficiency of patient care will be greatly improved and healthcare costs will be reduced.
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