NUR 514 Topic 6 DQ 2 Differentiate between EMRs and EHRs
NUR 514 Topic 6 DQ 2 Differentiate between EMRs and EHRs
Differentiate between EMRs and EHRs. Discuss the importance of interoperability in relationship to both types of records and to how the EMR and EHR improve quality and access to care.
ALI
Re: Topic 6 DQ 2
Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are not the same. Though they are only one letter apart, EMRs and EHRs actually have very different functions. Both are digital programs that house patient information, thus greatly decreasing the reliance on physical paper copies. Both can be used for data tracking and as a tool to ensure patients are receiving proper preventative care, such as immunizations and screenings (Garrett & Seidman, 2011).
An EMR is a digitized version of a patient’s medical chart from one specific facility. It includes provider notes, diagnoses, and treatments, all of which occurred at that one clinic in particular (Garrett & Seidman, 2011). EMRs are not easily transferrable to other facilities, however, and often may need to be physically printed out for the information to be shared outside of the clinic/facility (Garrett & Seidman, 2011).
While an EMR focuses on the “medical” aspect, an EHR focuses on “health” as a whole, which is a much broader view (Garrett & Seidman, 2011). EHRs can do everything an EMR can do, and more. They can house information not just from one specific clinic or facility, but from all providers a patient may see, providing a holistic look at the patient’s care as a whole (Garrett & Seidman, 2011). Information can be shared between facilities without the cumbersome process of printing and faxing, providers can collaborate with confidence knowing they’re seeing the same information, and the EHR moves with the patient wherever they go (Garrett & Seidman, 2011).
There are more than 800 certified commercial EHRs for inpatient facilities (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). A commonly used EHR is Epic, which is what my hospital system just switched to, from Cerner/ORCA. We made the switch to Epic for our inpatient facilities because our outpatient clinics were already using it, and Epic and Cerner did not share information with each other. While switching to Epic was not a smooth transition and we are still working through ongoing issues months later, it was a move made in the name of interoperability and patient quality and access to care. Having out outpatient and inpatient systems talk to each other provides invaluable information when a patient finds themselves inpatient. Providers and care teams can be confident that they see the holistic picture of the patient’s medical care, instead of having to fill in holes in records and spend time piecing together the history.
DeNisco, S.M., & Barker, A.M. (2016). Advanced practice nursing. Essential knowledge for the profession (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Garrett, P., & Seidman, J. (2011). EMR vs EHR—what is the difference? The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. https://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/electronic-health-and-medical-records/emr-vs-ehr-difference
RESPOND HERE (150 WORDS, 2 REFERENCES)
Hello Ali,
I do agree with you that there are many similarities between EMRs and EHRs due to the fact that both involve digitalization of the healthcare information and processes. However, the biggest difference comes in the usability of the two records, while the EMRs are restricted to the medical procedures or interventions taken on providing care to the patient, the EHRs involves the general health information about the patient from the biodata to any other relevant health information about the patient. Use of EHRs that have proved to be beneficial to the healthcare systems in a number of ways. It has helped the medical practitioners to access the whole of a patient’s medical history. The information helps the healthcare practitioner to be aware of any medical diagnoses the patient has undergone, any of the prescribed drugs the patient has used before and any allergies experienced by the patient (Dash et al., 2019). Additionally, the use of EHR has helped in analysis of demographics and clinical narratives together with the laboratory test results. This has ensured the reduced lag time hence the treatment process is able to be followed up quickly due to availability of the previous data. This also saves on cost hence in some cases no further examinations are needed because it is easier to infer from the previous existing data that is related to the current situation the patient is suffering from (De Benedictis et al., 2020).
References
Dash, S., Shakyawar, S. K., Sharma, M., & Kaushik, S. (2019). Big data in healthcare: management, analysis and future prospects. Journal of Big Data, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40537-019-0217-0
De Benedictis, A., Lettieri, E., Gastaldi, L., Masella, C., Urgu, A., & Tartaglini, D. (2020). Electronic Medical Records implementation in hospital: An empirical investigation of individual and organizational determinants. PLOS ONE, 15(6), e0234108. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234108
LA SHIONNA
Re: Topic 6 DQ 2
Both an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Electronic Health Record (EHR) are digital records of patient health information. An EMR is best understood as a digital version of a patient’s chart, while an EHR contains the patient’s records from multiple doctors and provides a more holistic, long-term view of a patient’s health. Both EHRs and EMRs offer benefits to patients and healthcare providers such as; reduced medical errors improved health care, patient charts are more complete and clear, information sharing can reduce duplicate testing, saving patients and providers time, money and trouble, improved information access makes prescribing medication safer and more reliable, the promotion of patient participation can encourage healthier lifestyles and more frequent use of preventative care, and with more complete information means more accurate diagnoses (Practice Fusion, 2019). The primary benefit is the collaborative nature of an EHR. They are designed to be shared with other healthcare providers and to aid the level of care provided across the care continuum. EHRs also present the ability to track additional information inclusive of demographic data, lab results, insurance information, prior authorizations and data from personal wellness devices from across the internet, enhancing patient access to care. EHRs also played a significant role in the rollout of Meaningful Use, the Medicare/Medicaid program that mandates the use of EHR to improve patient outcomes and subsequently performance-based compensation. An HER, that is certified technology, meets meaningful use standards for incentive-based programs administered by the CMS (Practice Fusion, 2019). EMRs do not. EHRs are designed to be shared and expanded upon outside of a single practice, where EMRs are not. EMRs are restricted in scope to primarily diagnosis and treatment information. EHRs provide in-depth data across a patient’s medical history from a variety of sources. EHRs move with the patient across providers, states and even country borders. EMRs do not travel with patients easily. The ability to share information across organizations, or interoperability, is vital for organizations to meet requirements of the HITECH Act (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018. P. 185). Electronics records are expected to make healthcare more efficient and less costly and have a possibility to reduce the number of medical errors and therefore increase the safety of the patients.
The Health Insurance Portability and Patient Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA), requires that all protected health information be secure. Keeping health information safe is a major challenge for all members of the healthcare team. EHRs improve accountability with audit trails and security that detail who has accessed the medical records and when and what the individuals did while accessing each record. EHRs also keep information safe from anyone who does not have permission to see patient data. However, patients have access to their own EHRs through patient portals and can read, print and send their health information to providers, empowering patients to be their own advocate (Hoover, 2017).
References
Hoover, R. (2017). Benefits of using an electronic health record, Nursing Critical Care, (12), 1, 9-10. Retrieved from https://doi: 10.1097/01.CCN.0000508631.93151.8d
McGonigle, D., and Mastrian, K. (2018). Administrative Information Systems, in Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge. (4th Ed).
Practice Fusion. (2019). EHR (electronic health record) vs. EMR (electronic medical record). Retrieved May 27, 2021 from: https://www.practicefusion.com/blog/ehr-vs-emr/
RESPOND HERE (150 WORDS, 2 REFERENCES)
Hello LaShionna,
I do agree with you that the major difference between EHRs and EMRs is that the EHRs are long term and provide comprehensive report about the patient’s general health condition through the health-illness continuum while EMRs are short term as they provide the medical or clinical interventions the patient has been exposed to and in most cases the records are not transferrable. Nurses use multiple EHR systems such as Meditech, Allscripts, Cerner, and EPIC. Having the EHR compile all the patient data into one place for nurses to access has made the job as a nurse easier. Nurses enter a large portion of the EHR documentation including: “plans of care, physiological parameters, assessments, interventions, and progress evaluations” (Glassman, 2017). The documentation nurses add to the EHR is essential to quality of care and patient safety (Glassman, 2017). The EHR takes many different types of information, which is organized automatically into a user-friendly filing cabinet (Pastorino et al., 2019). “To date, we can collect data from electronic healthcare records, social media, patient summaries, genomic and pharmaceutical data, clinical trials, telemedicine, mobile apps, sensors, and information on well-being, behavior and socio-economic indicator” (Pastorino et al., 2019).
References
Glassman, K. S. (2017). Using data in nursing practice. American Nurse Today, 12(11), 45–47. Retrieved from https://www.americannursetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ant11-Data-1030.pdf
Pastorino, R., Vito, C. D., Migliara, G., Glocker, K., Binenbaum, I., Ricciardi, W., & Boccia, S. (2019). Benefits and challenges of Big Data in healthcare: an overview of the European initiatives. European Journal of Public Health, 29, 23–27. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckz168
CAMILLE
Re: Topic 6 DQ 2
Electronic medical records (EMRs) are the patients’ medical records for a specific clinic or practice in a computerized format that can be stored, updated, and shared with other health care institutions in paper format(Anshari, 2019). Electronic health records (EHR) are a digital repository of patient data that is stored securely and exchanged amongst authorized personnel. This data contains past, current, and future health information to promote safe, quality, integrated, and coordinated health care (Anshari, 2019). EMRs and EHRs are not interoperable. EHRs are interoperable within the same system (EPIC communicates with EPIC).
EMRs are essentially digital patient charts. EMRs are designed for diagnosis and treatment. The EMR follows data over time, identifies patients who are due for appointments, screenings, check-ups, monitors parameters (B/P or vaccinations, and assesses and improves the quality of care in the practice. EMR information may need to be printed out to be sent to another institution. The EMR does not communicate efficiently with other computerized systems (Garrett & Seidman, 2011).
EHRs gather and collect data at all points of health care entry. This data can be shared from any location at any time amongst authorized health care employees. Furthermore, the patient has access to his/her healthcare information through the EHR (Agarwal & Kochhar, 2017). The ability to gather and track patient data can lead to improvement in care. The practitioner can identify patients who need a follow-up or screening to maintain their health. A consistent follow-up is necessary for patients with long-term chronic illnesses such as diabetes to keep their health care regimen on track. Gathering data is key to identifying underserved populations that may require programs to be able to access care.
At the hospital, I work at patients come from all over the state and out of state to receive care due to the fact that the hospital is able to assist with payment and accepts no payment for some underserved populations. The hospital is a non-profit and religious organization that seeks to identify and provide health care to underserved populations. One of the ministries serves AIDs patients in Chicago. EHRs utilize all collected data to integrate and coordinate care. This may mean identifying services for patients that are underserved.
References
Agarwal, R., & Kochhar, T. (2017). A review of phr, emr and ehr integration: Personalized healthcare and public health. JIMS8I � International Journal of Information Communication and Computing Technology, 5(2), 310. https://doi.org/10.5958/2347-7202.2017.00011.1
Anshari, M. (2019). Redefining electronic health records (ehr) and electronic medical records (emr) to promote patient empowerment. IJID (International Journal on Informatics for Development), 8(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.14421/ijid.2019.08106
Garrett, P., & Seidman, J. (2011). EMR vs EHR – What is the difference? Health IT Buzz. https://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/electronic-health-and-medical-records/emr-vs-ehr-difference
RESPOND HERE (150 WORDS, 2 REFERENCES)
Hello Camille,
I do agree with you that both EMRs and EHRs are transferable. However, the EMRs are transferred through printed out copies while the EHRs records are synchronized and can be assessed by the patient and healthcare providers from the digital platforms. One of the most significant challenges of using electronic systems of data as part of a clinical system is security. Just recently “the FBI, HHS and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the Department of Homeland Security” released a statement in October of this year for hospitals to increase their cybersecurity measures due to an imminent threat (Jercich, 2020). In general, Cybersecurity has become a major threat in the information technology workplace (Pastorino et al., 2019). This is extremely important as it applies to healthcare due to the privacy of information (Pastorino et al., 2019). One of the strategies to effectively mitigate the challenge of using electronic data systems is for users to become hypervigilant in their part of data security. When the news of this data breach was

NUR 514 Topic 6 DQ 2 Differentiate between EMRs and EHRs
released, all employees received notifications about not giving out information about passwords, and not to click on links in emails due to possible phishing. Until cybersecurity is 100% impenetrable, we must all do our part to help secure our patient’s data.
References
Jercich, K. (2020). HHS: More than 2M patients affected by breaches reported in October. Healthcare IT News. https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/hhs-more-2m-patients-affected-breaches-reported-october
Pastorino, R., Vito, C. D., Migliara, G., Glocker, K., Binenbaum, I., Ricciardi, W., & Boccia, S. (2019). Benefits and challenges of Big Data in healthcare: an overview of the European initiatives. European Journal of Public Health, 29, 23–27. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckz168
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Also Check Out: NUR 514 Topic 6 DQ 1: Informatics