Starting a practice
EHR vs. EMR: What’s better for your practice?
Electronic medical records and electronic health records may sound the same, but there are key differences in how they function.
December 21, 2023 • Updated on September 9, 2025
7 min read
Electronic medical records and electronic health records may sound the same, but there are key differences in how they function. Here's your guide to understanding the nuances and choosing the right system for your practice.
What is an EMR?
An Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is a digital version of a paper chart that contains all of a client's medical history from one practice. It includes information such as treatment plans, medications, immunization dates, allergies, and more. Essentially, an EMR is designed to streamline and automate clinical operations in a single healthcare organization, helping to enhance efficiency and accuracy.
In a therapy practice, a provider might use an EMR to take detailed notes about a patient’s diagnosis and symptom progression, the modalities used in their treatment, and what happened in specific sessions without fear that those notes will be shared with other providers, says Caitlin Pugh, a licensed clinical social worker in California. “There could be stigmatizing symptoms or diagnoses that you don’t want to affect someone’s medical care,” she says.
Benefits of an EMR include:
- Strong confidentiality, since notes are not shared beyond a single practice
- Freedom to create detailed notes
- Generally costs less than an EHR
- May be customizable to your specific practice
What is an EHR?
An Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a holistic system that is designed to capture a comprehensive digital record of a patient’s health. EHRs make it seamless for different healthcare providers and organizations to document and share information in the course of their treatment of the patient, improving care coordination.
An EHR may include clinical data from multiple healthcare providers, specialists, laboratories, and hospitals — including the patient's demographics, medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and more.
Having access to that breadth of information can be extremely helpful for a therapist, because “there are so many medical conditions that can impact someone’s mental health,” Pugh says. With access to an EHR, a therapist can gain a fuller understanding of their client’s mental and physical health history, then use that knowledge to guide treatment.
Key benefits of an EHR include:
- Ability to comprehensively evaluate a client’s physical and mental health history
- Data can be tracked over time (for example, if a client has taken a particular mental health assessment multiple times)
- Records may conflict with or corroborate a client’s description of their health history, providing a therapist with valuable insight about their communication
The tradeoff is that lots of other providers will have access to your EHR notes, so you may want to keep them relatively vague to protect your client’s privacy, Pugh says.
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What is the difference between an EMR and an EHR?
The biggest difference between an EMR and an EHR is the scope of information contained within each system. While EMRs allow a single organization to easily document and reference patient records, EHRs provide a broader picture of the patient’s health by integrating information from various healthcare sources — across providers, offices, locations, and settings.
In other words, EMRs are centered around a single practice’s clinical data, while EHRs transcend individual practices and center around an overall view of the patient’s health.
EMR
Limited to one practice: Yes
Easy to share records with other providers when needed: No
Patient has access to records: Yes
EHR
Limited to one practice: No
Easy to share records with other providers when needed: Yes
Patient has access to records: Yes
How to decide if an EMR or EHR is best for your practice
EHRs are on the rise in mental healthcare, as they make it possible for various specialists to promote continuity of care. But many smaller private practices opt for the simplicity and lower cost of an EMR, especially when they’re just starting out. Here’s how to decide what’s right for you:
Assess your practice needs.
Consider the size and scope of your private practice. If you see yourself collaborating with other types of healthcare providers (like primary care physicians) and think your practice would benefit from a comprehensive patient overview, an EHR might be the best choice. EHRs can also facilitate referrals and continuous care between talk therapists and prescribing physicians.
If your practice only offers talk therapy and rarely collaborates with other providers or organizations, however, an EMR may meet your needs. An EMR is simpler to maintain and allows you to take detailed process notes without worrying about who else will be able to read them.
Examine your budget.
While EHRs offer more functionality across the healthcare landscape, they can also be more expensive to implement and maintain. On the other hand, because EMRs are more focused, they may be a more cost-effective solution for smaller practices. Consider the ROI of an EHR for your practice to determine what’s best for you.
If you need the functionality of an EHR but don’t have room in your budget, Headway may be a great option for your practice. Headway’s comprehensive platform includes a free EHR — with AI-assisted note-taking and documentation templates designed to make compliance easy — so your practice can have the best of both worlds.
Determine if both would benefit your practice.
Some organizations may use both an EHR and EMR—if, for example, a behavioral health clinic is embedded within a larger health care system. This setup allows the behavioral health team to take detailed, private notes in an EMR, while at least some staffers have access to broader EHR data when care calls for it.
By choosing the system that aligns with your practice goals and your budget, you'll be better equipped to provide optimal care, streamline operations, and navigate the evolving landscape of digital health.
Curious about EHRs? Explore more resources from Headway
Headway’s expansive resource center explores many EHR considerations — from ROI to implementation and more. Here’s further EHR reading:
Roundups of the best EHR options:
Tips for EHR comparison & selection:
EHR foundational information and practical considerations:
Use Headway’s EHR — at no cost to you
Headway makes working with insurance easy and profitable by taking on all of the administrative burden. Our free EHR is part of a suite of features with one common goal: making it simpler to work with insurance, so you can focus on caring for your clients.
Creating and storing documentation in our secure EHR means you’ll never have to worry about details slipping through the cracks — and since the whole system was built to serve the needs of providers who accept insurance, you can also count on perks like billing support, clawback protection, and consistent bi-weekly pay.
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Join Headway to build a connected practice with a streamlined suite of free EHR features — from scheduling and messaging to documentation and assessments.
This content is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical, legal, financial, or professional advice. All decisions should be made at the discretion of the individual or organization, in consultation with qualified clinical, legal, or other appropriate professionals.
© 2025 Therapymatch, Inc. dba Headway. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
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