EHR/EMR Prescribing

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are digital versions of patient-centered health information.  EHRs are becoming more commonly used by healthcare providers, which has been driven by the financial incentives to utilize EHRs.  PHSI helps clients understand EHRs’ impacts on prescribing.  We have gathered three frequently asked questions about EHRs to help provide some insights.

1. What type of EHR systems exist? Does the software exist in the MD office or is it cloud based?

EHR systems exist in a number of platforms.  Some physicians may purchase their own EHR systems from a vendor for use in their specific office.  Other larger groups, such as integrated delivery networks and/or health systems may select an EHR system to be used for their entire network/system.  Approximately 80% of EHR software providers systems have all relevant information loaded at the physician office with updates either pushed or pulled from the EHR central server. The other 20% of EHR providers use cloud based solutions where the physicians’ offices will need to log-in to access files and updates. There are a handful of EHR providers that offer different versions of their software that will dictate whether the updates are pulled/pushed to the physician office or only updated via the Cloud.

2. How often are EHRs updated?

EHR systems may be updated monthly, which is by far the most common update schedule, or even quarterly, which occurs with a number of significant industry offerings.  Few if any providers update their systems more often than once per month.  For prescribers that must manually sync their systems, update frequency may depend on how frequently they load new data.  Web-based platforms are more likely to be updated more frequently and more reliably.

3. Can prescribers use their EHR system to find drugs by brand name?

Yes – This is the most common way that prescribers search for and prescribe medications.

Let us know what questions you have about EHRs by commenting below or contacting us.  PHSI has more detailed insight about adding prescription products to the EHR or discussing your specific issues or challenges with EHRs.