Chiropractic EHR vs. EMR - What's the Difference?

Highlights

• Chiropractic EHR vs EMR: They are different records systems.
• EMR stands for electronic medical record.
• EHR stands for electronic health record.
• Both EMRs and EHRs support a paperless office.
• When choosing chiropractic EHR vs. EMR, EHR delivers far-reaching benefits throughout your practice.

Do you need a chiropractic EHR vs. EMR?

Learn what the difference is between these two different types of software and find out which one is best for your practice.

Chiropractic EMR vs. EHRWhat does EMR stand for? Chiropractic EMR stands for “Chiropractic electronic medical records.” What does EHR stand for? Chiropractic EHR means “Chiropractic electronic health record.

”Aren’t they the same thing? The short answer is “no,” although people mistakenly use them interchangeably.

EMR is the older term, dating from the early days of maintaining electronic rather than paper medical records. Fast forward a few decades, and not much has changed with EMRs.

On the other hand, EHR is for electronic records containing more comprehensive information that can easily be shared with patient care team members, no matter their location.

The Paperless Office

While the computer revolution promised a paperless office, the goal hasn’t yet been reached in many chiropractic offices. Still, the use of paper files has been drastically reduced, and that saves time, money and the energy of your staff.

If your patients’ files are still on paper, you may have experienced the panic that sets in when a patient’s file has gone missing. If your practice still relies on paper, a chiropractic EMR system or a chiropractic EHR system offers a huge improvement.

There are other practical considerations to going paperless. For example, what if your office was destroyed in a fire or natural disaster? Your paper files are literally up in smoke or so badly damaged that the information is irretrievable.

That’s not the case when you have an electronic records system. Even if your physical computer system is gone, you can still retrieve your patient’s health records from backup files or the cloud.

If you aren’t using integrated practice management software with an EHR, all of your business and insurance records are also gone in any type of calamity. While either type of system can protect this information, there are far more advantages to an EHR than an EMR.

Search Trends Data

In a quick search of recent trends for the two terms, search data appears to have determined a clear winner. Searches for information regarding EMRs far surpass searches for EHR, and that’s been true for years.

However, vendors have long since standardized the term “EHR” for their software. Since it would make more sense for EHR (given its integration capabilities) to prove the more popular choice, let’s examine the reasons why this doesn’t appear to be the case.

Part of this is cost and demographics. Younger chiropractors, presumably familiar with tech since childhood, are more likely to become EHR adapters because they know their practice’s future lies in operations integration. However, at this stage of their career, they may not have the IT budget to support an EHR system.

Older chiropractors, who might recall when desktop computers were an innovation, may not adopt IT as aggressively. They might want to go paperless but don’t see the need at this stage of their profession to spend money on an integrated system; their familiar standalone EMR meets their basic needs.

When choosing between an EMR and EHR system, there is no wrong decision. Both systems eliminate paper charts and store patient information electronically. It’s a matter of choosing what’s right for your practice and your budget.

No matter what type of practice you have, ChiroTouch has a plan that’s right for you. For cash practices and growing practices, ChiroTouch Core has all the features you need to integrate your practice functions for more streamlined workflows.

‍For larger practices and those that accept insurance, ChiroTouch Advanced offers all the features of ChiroTouch Core along with advanced features designed to make claims management and billing smooth and easy.

No matter which version of ChiroTouch you choose, you’ll experience the benefits of an integrated solution that increases productivity and boosts revenue.

Chiropractic EMR

A practice still using chiropractic EMRs today really hasn’t evolved too much beyond keeping paper records. In essence, it’s the digital version of a patient’s paper chart.

Perhaps the best analogy for EMR vs. EHR is the cell phone. A decade ago, a flip phone probably met most of your needs. Considering that you can access the internet with your smartphone, make purchases, pay bills, and accomplish thousands of other tasks, would you willingly go back to a phone that simply lets you make calls?

It’s unlikely, and that’s the same reason chiropractors don’t benefit from having even the best 1990s technology in their 21st century offices.

A practice relying on EMRs can access a patient’s medical records via the computer, but that’s about it.

Chiropractor EMRs can’t help you with billing, scheduling or other critical aspects of patient care and business.

Chiropractic EHR and Practice Management Software

Most practitioners want practice management software for dealing with patient appointments, insurance, billing, and other day-to-day needs. Chiropractic EMR software does not have practice management integration abilities, but chiropractic EHR software does.

When you use integrated EHR and practice management software, you’re taking care of two of your most critical office needs at once, which has a positive impact on your staffing requirements and your bottom line.

If you have two different systems storing a patient’s data — an EMR and a separate practice management system — errors are more likely to happen than when the data is integrated in a single EHR system.

When your practice uses chiropractic EHR software, all of your patient data is in one place. You’ll present your patients with better care and service after transitioning to a chiropractic EHR. There’s less chance of some vital piece of information getting lost or misfiled, such as a patient’s allergies or medication list.

When you have comprehensive information about a patient in one place, it’s more probable you will make the correct diagnosis, devise the right treatment plan, and get paid promptly with fewer denials.

Another plus to EHR chiropractic software involves getting your patient in the door in the first place. An EHR system may include features that allow potential patients to find your practice on their smartphones, read reviews, and even book an appointment. Those are things an EMR system can’t do.

A modern EHR also allows your staff to send automated appointment reminder emails and texts as well as other information you’d like to share with patients. This means no more appointment reminders by phone call and less likelihood of no-shows and subsequent lost income.

ChiroTouch Completely Integrated Chiropractic EHR

ChiroTouch, the cloud standard in chiropractic EHR, is a fully integrated solution that you can tailor to meet the needs of your practice.

The many productivity- and revenue-boosting features of ChiroTouch include:

• All-in-one dashboard for fast and easy access to all data
• Online scheduling
• Multi-provider calendars
• Charting macros for 15-second SOAP notes
• Case management features
• Multiple payment options that post directly to your ledger
• Fully integrated claim management
• Automated patient communication and engagement tools
• Advanced reporting features with actionable charts and insights

With ChiroTouch, you will have confidence in your documents while you and your staff will have more time to focus on patient care.