EHR vs EMR: What’s the difference?

EHR and EMR are often used interchangeably despite being different. EMR stands for electronic medical records: the digital version of a patient's chart within a single practice. EHR stands for electronic health records, a broader system that draws on information from multiple sources.

Historically, EMRs came first, built to serve individual practices. As care became more connected across providers and settings, EHR became both the standard term and the more clinically useful one.

What is an EMR?

Electronic medical records are the digital form of the paper charts that were used in the past. An EMR contains medical history, medications, visit summaries, demographic and insurance information, etc.

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The EMR is used in a medical practice setting and works well for operations within said practice. However, electronic medical records cannot travel outside the practice easily. Typically, the record would need to be printed out to leave the office. When the information needs to be shared outside the practice, it is almost as if you are using paper charts.

What is an EHR?

Electronic health records do much more than EMRs. An EHR provides agile information that can be shared across practices and specialties, connecting information from all facets of patient care. EHRs are designed to be accessible by all professionals involved in a patient’s care, from physicians to nurses to laboratories and even the patients themselves.

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The sharing of information is done securely, ensuring patient privacy and confidentiality. The secure sharing of a patient’s information allows for enhanced communication and healthcare coordination, allowing for a more comprehensive approach to healthcare.

Do hospitals use EMR or EHR?

Hospitals typically use EHR systems because coordinating care across departments requires more than a single practice's records. EHRs connect different parts of a hospital like clinical teams, laboratories and pharmacies, so information flows where it's needed, in real time.

For example, when a physician orders a full blood count,

1. That request goes electronically to the lab.
2. Once the results are ready, they appear in the patient's record almost immediately.

The physician can review and act on them without waiting for a printout or a phone call. That kind of workflow isn't possible with a standalone EMR.

Smaller, single-provider clinics may still use EMRs, which are a reasonable fit when patient care stays within one practice. For anything more complex, EHR is the more practical choice.

EHR vs EMR: Why EHR?

The benefits of using an EHR system, and not simply an EMR, lie in the operations and efficiency of coordination of care and service delivery.

The EHR safely and effectively stores health information and data, analyzes outcomes, allows for electronic prescribing and electronic communications, provides patient support, and increases the quality of administrative operations.

There's also a meaningful shift for patients. EHRs give people direct access to their own records: they can review their history, message their care team and track how their health changes over time.

This doesn't replace clinical guidance, but it does give patients more context about their own care, which tends to lead to better engagement with it.