What is the Difference Between EMR & EHR?

A 2004 White House executive order and the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act increased the speed of adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The executive order set a goal for most Americans to have EHRs by 2014, and ARRA provided funding to physicians to begin using EMRs. Members of the media, policymakers and even health professionals use the acronyms interchangeably---but there are differences between the two.

Ownership

• The care delivery organization---such as a hospital, clinic or nursing home---owns and manages the electronic medical record, according to a Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) white paper. The individual patient owns and manages the electronic health record.

Interactivity

• Electronic health records provide a degree of interactivity with the patient, according to HIMSS. Patients or their care providers may store or retrieve information in the record, add information or delete information. HIMSS experts note that electronic medical records do not provide interactive access, and only the care provider may enter information into an electronic medical record.

Content

• Electronic medical records contain information about a patient's experiences at the single care delivery organization that owns the record, notes "Life as a Healthcare CIO," a blog written by medical information expert Dr. John Halamka. Electronic health records contain information about the patient's clinical experiences at a number of hospitals or clinics, as well as medical history facts that the patient chooses to include in the record, according to HIMSS.