By Martine G. Brousse (not AI!)
"The Medical Bill Whisperer"™
Patient Advocate, Certified Mediator
AdvimedPro
January 15, 2025
What are the differences between EMRs and EHRs?
Should I care? How do they impact my wallet? Let’s explore.
A. The Importance of Medical Records
1. There must be a paper or electronic record of every medical service, intervention, order, prescription, decision, diagnosis, treatment, session, intervention, report, action as they occur, and whether face-to-face with the patient or not
2. Medical records must document medical events whether:
· Preventive : to avoid or identify early
· Diagnostic: to establish a diagnosis and course of action
· Therapeutic: to manage, treat or cure
3. EMRs (“Electronic Medical Records”) and EHRs (“Electronic Health Records”) both achieve this mandate
B. EMRs
1. Electronic Medical Records are the electronic version of your doctor’s paper charts
· These records are generated by single medical providers to document their own actions and decisions
· These records are usually physically kept at one facility
· They are meant for internal use
· They are not accessible by other medical providers (unless in same practice)
· They are only shared with patients or other providers upon signed requests
2. Advantages:
· Legibility (!): Computerized data, info, documents are easier to read than Doctors' scribbles
· Immediate use and access
3. Disadvantages
· Closed circuit can be inflexible and hard to access from outside
· Additional steps to get copies of documents or info cause delays and frustration
· Office hours or availability can prove hurdles
C. EHRs
1. Electronic Health Records are a hub of records: patient demographics, patient’s health history, Prescription list, immunization list, allergy list, insurance info, vital signs tracking, test results, medical reports, list of other treating physicians, and more
2. Advantages:
· Interoperability and portability
· Immediate and easy share of medical data and documents
· 24/7 and widespread geographical access
· Clinical efficiency: reduction of medical errors, improved use of resources, less duplication
· Built in tools: prescribing Rx or tests, reminder alerts to patients
· Increased patient involvement through portals
· Ease of use for patients, from making appointments to paying balances
3. Disadvantages:
· Widespread access to personal data
· Excessive monitoring, automation in charge
· Prone to many data breaches
· Difficulty speaking with “humans”
· Subject to design flaws, glitches, data entry errors, inter-system communication challenges
D. Accessing your medical records
1. A number of entities may request copies of your medical records::
· Patients
· Other medical providers
· Insurances
· Attorneys
2. HIPAA release forms allow patients to get a copy of their own medical records, and to give access to their medical chart, documents and info to other entities
3. Individual providers or small practices with EMRs will require your signed release before copying documents for your own use or to transmit to another entity
4. EHR’s offer patients immediate access to a variety of resources, including actual medical records, reports and test results through portals, as well as to other medical providers (and insurances) who have the software or electronic access
E. Costs
States can and do determine the price of copying and sharing medical records, based on the type of records, form of media, and need for use. A page may cost a patient 15 cents, but be billed $ 20.00 to a Workers’ Comp attorney. Some States allow for a “labor” cost remuneration, others forbid it. Google your own State’s rules for clarification.
The future is bring a new type of medical and health record-keeping systems: SHRs (“Shared Health Records”). Those systems link multiple healthcare organizations, enabling even larger geographical and electronic access. While we are not all there yet, AI implementation has already become prevalent in the healthcare system, and can only be expected to further spread toward centralization.

Martine Brousse was a long-time Billing Manager for Physicians before switching to the side of patients in 2013. The move has allowed her to apply her deep expertise and vast experience of the intricacies of resolving all types of medical bill and claim payment issues in ways that directly and positively impact her clientsʻ finances.
(424) 999 4705 - F (424) 226 1330
@martine brousse 2025 @ the medical bill whisperer 2025™
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