Electronic Medical Record(EMR) and Electronic Health Record(EHR) – an overview of EMR and EHR

Table of Content 

• What is Electronic Medical Record?
• Definition of Electronic Medical Record
• Deference Between Electronic Medical Record and Electronic Health Record
• Advantage of Electronic Medical Record
• Disadvantage of EMR/EHR
• Which are Best EMR/SHR system in USA?

What is full meaning of EMR?

EMR means Electronic Medical Record. 

Definition of Electronic Medical Record 

An electronic medical record (EMR) is a digital version of all the information you would typically find in a provider’s medical history, diagnoses,drug history, immunization history, allergic history, investigation results and doctor’s advice on a digital chart . EMRs are online an electronic medical records of the standard medical and clinical data from one doctor’s office, mostly it is used by health providers for diagnosis and treatment of the diseases. Comprehensive and accurate documentation of a patient’s medical history, labaratory tests, clunical diagnosis and treatment in electronic medical records ensures appropriate care throughout the provider’s hospital or clinic.

electronic medical records are more than just a replacement for paper prescription. They effectively accept communication and coordination among members of a healthcare professionals for optimal patient service.

Its natural evolution start in the 1960s when we start to see problem-oriented medical records instead of just the clinical diagnosis and treatment of a doctor provided. This was the 1st moment that third party health facilities were able to independently verify and clarify the clinial diagnosis.

Deference Between Electronic Medical Record and Electronic Health Record 

While an Electronic health record contains comprehensive information & medical records of the patient’s history with one doctor or provider, on the other hand, an Electronic health record(EHR) contains all of this service and it is also able to share amongst authorized , health organizations & clinics. An Electronic health record goes beyond the information from just one provider and includes a comprehensive patient history which can be shared amongst all providers to help coordinate care for the patient. Electronic medical record and Electronic health record systems are both beneficial tools for clinics – below are some of the key 

differences between Electronic medical record and Electronic health record systems.

1. EMR is a digital version of a patient chart on the other hand, EHR is a digital record of all patient health information.
2. in EMR, Patient record does not easily travel outside the practice and might need to be printe,but in EHR,Allows a patient’s medical information to move with them to other health care providers and specialists.
3. in EMR, Mainly used by a provider for diagnosis, treatment and care,in EHR Accessed by any number of providers for decision making, diagnosis and care beyond one provider’s office.

The Electronic Medical Record provides a comprehensive record of care within a practice and the Electronic Health Record makes that care accessible to a variety of healthcare providers, even hospitals, if & when it is needed.

Advantage of Electronic Medical Record and Electronic Health Record 

Advantage of EMRs for patients 

• 1.Fewer errors on electroni medical/health records
• 2.Faster assessment, and care from medical professionals
• 3 Data and results are tracked over time
• 4. Improved your health diagnosis, treatment, and overall quality of health care.
• 5. Identify the patients who are due for followap visits.
• 6.Identify the patients who are due for screenings.
• 7.Raised security and privacy of patient data and Safety. 
• 8.Reduction in patient mistake and improved service for the patients. 
• 9.Make evidence-based decisions at point of care quickly. 
• 10.Follow-up information after a visit e.g. self-care instructions, alert,reminders for other follow-up care, and links to website resources.
• 11.Access to yours own records to view medications and keep up with lifestyle changes that have improved your health.

Advantage of Electronic medical records for clinics

• 1.Save storage by decreasing use of physical paper records.
• 2.Optimize workflow & raised number of patients served daily.
• 3.Reduce administrative difficulties. 
• 4. Reduce operational costs.
• 5.Interface easily and quickly with hospitals,clinics, pharmacies, diagnostic Center, and state health systems by EMR.
• 6.easily Customizable and scalable electronic medical records
• 7.analyze patient data that enables outreach to discreet populations.
• 8.Provide clinical alerts and reminders for the patients betters.
• 9.Improve coding & Documentation.
• 10.Enhance research by data analysis and monitoring for improvements in clinical quality.
• 10.Provide built-in safeguards against malpractices.
• 11.Track electronic messages to staff,clinicians, hospitals, and Diagnostic labs, etc.
• 12.EMRs do not just contain information of population they “compute” it by beneficially manipulating the health information.

For example:

The electronic medical record automatically checks for disease whenever a new medicine is prescribed to a patient for a disease and alerts potential conflicts, side effect,interaction with the patient’s other medications or disease.

Electronic medical records can help you quickly and systematically identify and correct operational and emergency problems. In a paper-based prescription, identifying such problems or malpractices is much more difficult than EMR, and correcting them can take years

In short advantage of EMR

1. Improved Quality of Care
2. Saving Space
3. Patient Access
4. Financial Incentives

Disadvantage of Electronic Medical Record and Electronic Health Record 

What Are the Disadvantages of EMR/EHR?

There are are several disadvantages of EMR electronic medical records, such as:

1. Potential Privacy and Security Issues:EHR/EMR systems are vulnerable to hacking by hacker, which means sensitive data could fall into the third party.
2. Wrong Information: Because of the instantaneous nature of electronic Medic records or electronic Health Record, you must be updated immediately after each patient visit — or whenever there is a chance to change the information. 
3. Frightening Patients Needlessly: Because an electronic health record / electronic medical record system enables patients to access their data, it can create a panic situation where they misinterpret a file entry.This can cause undue alarm.
4. Malpractice Liability Concerns: There are several potential liability issues associated with EHR/EMR implementation. 

Which are Best Electronic Medical Record in United States? 

The 10 best Electronic Medical Record systems in USA are:

1. AdvancedMD
2. Athena Health
3. CareCloud
4. Greenway Health Intergy
5. Kareo
6. NextGen Healthcare
7. Sevocity
8. TheraNest
9. Virence Health Centricity
10. WebPT

Author :

Noman Islam Nirob 

MBBS, 46th Batch, Rangpur Medical College, Rangpur. 

This article is under construction 

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