Portrait of Peter Garrett

EMR vs EHR – What is the Difference?

Peter Garrett | January 4, 2011

What’s in a word? Or, even one letter of an acronym?
Some people use the terms “electronic medical record” and “electronic health record” (or “EMR” and “EHR”) interchangeably. But here at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), you’ll notice we use electronic health record or EHR almost exclusively. While it may seem a little picky at first, the difference between the two terms is actually quite significant.

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Portrait of Joy Pritts

Personal Health Records Roundtable

Joy Pritts | December 29, 2010

Understanding the Evolving Landscape
Personal health records (PHRs) have the potential to give individuals more control over their health information — collecting, using, and sharing it as they see fit. On December 3, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), held a PHR Roundtable to gain a better understanding of PHRs as well as other emerging technologies, and the dynamic and evolving market in which they exist, with a focus on privacy and security.

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Portrait of Dr. David Blumenthal

2010 ONC Update and Grantee Meeting

Dr. David Blumenthal | December 27, 2010

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2010 ONC Update on December 14-15, 2010 where we had the opportunity to discuss ONC’s strategies and programs, hear about your experiences in the field, assess progress to date, and get caught up on HITECH’s implementation. Video-recordings of the webcast are now available through the ONC website at  http://healthit.hhs.gov/ONCMeeting2010.

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Portrait of Dr. David Blumenthal

Certified EHR Systems are Affirming Flexibility

Dr. David Blumenthal | December 23, 2010

Today on our FAQ page, we are posting a revised Question and Answer regarding an issue that has recently caused confusion in our meaningful use regulations:  namely, the flexibility that providers have to defer performance on some Stage 1 meaningful use objectives; and how that squares with the requirement that providers must nonetheless possess fully-certified EHR systems. 

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Portrait of Mat Kendall ,

Regional Extension Centers Supporting EHR Adoption

Mat Kendall | December 14, 2010

The Regional Extension Centers (RECs) located across the country play a critical role in advancing the use of health information technology (health IT). They are charged with guiding some 100,000 health care providers in their efforts to establish and meaningfully use electronic health records in their practices. They offer a variety of services including outreach and education, and on-the-ground assistance.

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