EMR or EHR?
There are two common acronyms when referring to digital records of patient care: EMR and EHR.
The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is a record of the medical care delivered within an enterprise or organization. The EMR is the computerized legal clinical record of the medical care delivered by a hospital or physician’s office. Core components of the EMR include computer-based order entry and results reporting, a clinical data repository (CDR), clinical decision support, point-of-care documentation and an electronic medication administration record. There are links or interoperability with laboratory, pharmacy, radiology and picture archiving systems.
The Electronic Health Record (EHR) encompasses a broader range of health-related data, for example, information from pharmacy benefit management firms, reference labs and other organizations about the health status of patients in the community. It contains patient input and access spanning episodes of care across multiple organizations within a community, region, or state.
Reference Documents:
- HL7 EHR-S Functional Model and Standard
- Patient Medical Record Information Terminology Analysis Reports
- ELINCS:Developing a National Lab Data Standard for EHRs