Electronic health records enable faster sharing of patient information.

Although many people use the terms “electronic medical record” (EMR) and “electronic health record” (EHR) interchangeably, in reality these two terms are very different. And just to make things even more confusing, you may encounter yet another term, “digital medical record.”

What is an Electronic Medical Record?

An electronic medical record is the computer file that a physician has on a patient within their practice’s own database. This file is essentially a digital substitution for the traditional paper chart. While it can improve data tracking and care within that physician’s practice, an EMR typically does not travel well outside the practice. In many cases it is necessary to print out a paper copy of the EMR in order to provide new doctors and specialists with the data they need in a format they can actually use.

What is an Electronic Health Record?

An electronic health record is similar to an electronic medical record in that it allows patient care information to be stored in a digital database. However, the important difference is that an EHR is specifically designed to be portable. Any physician or specialist, as well as the patient themselves, should be able to access the record to view up-to-date health information.

Here’s one example of the power of an EHR versus an EMR or paper record. Say an individual is brought into an ER by emergency workers after an accident. The person is unconscious and no relatives are with them. If the person has an EHR, ER staff can immediately check for any possible medication allergies or other special needs. This enables care to be given promptly without risk of potentially life-threatening complications. With a standard record system being used, vital information would not be so easily available.

What is a Digital Medical Record?

The term digital or digitized medical record is typically used to refer to a paper record that has been converted to digital or electronic format via a high-resolution scanning process. This is the type of digital medical records we can create for your convenience at My Retired Doctor. Our scanning services are helpful for physicians who may never have converted to an electronic system, as well as those who may have adopted an electronic system that is not compatible with other systems and therefore requires data to be printed out and scanned in order to export information in electronic format. We can scan all your records to create a secure digital database that can be stored on our servers for your patients’ protection and convenience after you retire.