An EMR contains the standard medical and clinical data

gathered in one provider’s office. Electronic health records

(EHRs) go beyond the data collected in the provider’s office and

include a more comprehensive patient history.

For example, EHRs are designed to contain and share

information from all providers involved in a patient’s care. EHR

data can be created, managed, and consulted by authorized

providers and staff from across more than one health care

organization.

Unlike EMRs, EHRs also allow a patient’s health record to move

with them—to other health care providers, specialists, hospitals,

nursing homes, and even across states. For more information

about electronic medical records and the differences between

EMR vs EHR , please visit the Health IT Buzz Blog.

An electronic medical record (EMR) is a digital version of a

paper chart that contains all of a patient’s medical history from

one practice. An EMR is mostly used by providers for diagnosis

and treatment.

Benefits of Electronic Medical Records

An EMR is more beneficial than paper records because it allows

providers to:

Track data over time

Identify patients who are due for preventive visits and

screenings

Monitor how patients measure up to certain parameters, such

as vaccinations and blood pressure readings

Improve overall quality of care in a practice

The information stored in EMRs is not easily shared with

providers outside of a practice. A patient’s record might even

have to be printed out and delivered by mail to specialists and

other members of the care team.

An electronic health record ( EHR ), or electronic medical

record (EMR ), refers to the systematized collection of patient

and population electronically-stored health information in a

digital format. [1] These records can be shared across

different health care settings. Records