Top 16 BEST Electronic Medical Records EMR & EHR Systems (2024)

Understand the meaning & benefits of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and Electronic Health Records (EHRs) Software along with their differences:

Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and Electronic Health Records (EHRs) Software are defined as systems that help in maintaining the information of the patients online on the chart like medical history, diagnoses, medications, immunization dates, and allergies.

An EHR record can be shared with other practitioners for better assistance. There are various effective features provided by an EHR system including e-prescribing, past medical history, vital signs, progress notes, diagnoses, HIPAA compliance, etc.

EMRs & EHRs Software – Updated List

Difference Between EMR & EHR

1. EMR stands for Electronic Medical Record and EHR stands for Electronic Health Record.
2. EMR contains information about the patient contained on the chart like medical history, diagnoses, medications, immunization dates, and allergies whereas EHR contains information on the chart and much more like past medical history, vital signs, insurance information, demographic data, and so on.
3. Information on EMR cannot be shared with other practitioners whereas in EHR it can be shared.
4. EHR provides various other features along with maintaining a patient portal whereas EMR just maintains the records.
5. EMR is a narrow solution whereas EHR is a wider solution that covers more aspects.

Benefits of EHR Systems

• It provides easy-to-use speech-to-text tools that enable the users to concentrate on treating the patient and it translates the conversations into notes and hence streamlines the note-making process.
• It organizes and stores charts, notes, and records in compliance with HIPAA regulations to enable users to easily access the files.
• It offers Clinical Decision Support to prescribe the right medicines.
• It facilitates better communication between the practitioners to share the patient’s health information.
• Various software also provides the facility with customizable calendars to schedule their appointments or reschedule.

In the article, we explained the meaning and benefits of EHR software supported by the difference between an EHR system and an EMR system, Market trends, expert advice, and some FAQs.

EMR systems are provided with a detailed review and comparison of the top five among them. In the end, the conclusion and the review process are mentioned.

FAQs on EMR & EHR Systems

Q #1) What are EMR systems in healthcare?

Answer: An EMR is the record of patients’ information and medical records generated during the clinical encounter by the physician. This includes medical history, diagnoses, medications, past medical history, vital signs, insurance information, demographic data, and so on.

Q #2) What is EHR vs EMR?

Answer: EMR is part of EHR which contains a patient’s medical records generated during the clinical encounter or the information on an online chart. Information can be transferred to EHR whereas in EMR it can not be shared with other practitioners.

Q #3) What are the 4 core functions of EMR and EHR?

Answer: The four core functions of EMR systems and EHR systems are:

1. Maintain health information and data of the patient online.
2. Managing results faster with faster access to lab results.
3. Providing Clinical Decision Support.
4. Sharing patient medical records with other practitioners as per HIPAA regulations.

Q #4) What are the 5 components of the EMR?

Answer: The 5 components of the EMR are as follows: 

1. Progress entry note
2. Data module input system
3. Patient call log
4. Prescription Management System
5. Backup system.

Q #5) What are the most popular EMR Systems?

Answer: The most popular EMR systems are:

1. Kareo Clinical
2. Athenahealth
3. CareCloud Charts
4. AdvancedMD EHR
5. iPatientCare EHR

Q #6) What EMR do most hospitals use?

Answer: Most hospitals in the US use the Epic EMR system. It has covered over 34% of the market share of inpatient implementations.

List of the Best EMR Systems

Most note-worthy software for EMR & EHR:

1. Kareo Clinical
2. Athenahealth
3. CareCloud Charts
4. AdvancedMD EHR
5. iPatientCare EHR
6. Epic
7. Cerner
8. Allscripts
9. GE Healthcare
10. CureMD

Comparison of the TOP EMR & EHR Software

Detailed review:

#1) Kareo Clinical

Best for easy-to-use configurable and connected interfaces.

Kareo Clinical is an easy and integrated cloud-based EHR software. It enables practitioners to write notes and prescriptions and manage patients easily online. It provides a dedicated success coach for support and assistance and enables you to simply sign up and start using it in minutes.

It offers a comprehensive dashboard, simple charting, e-prescribing, convenient e-Labs, and more. It includes solutions for care delivery, insurance reimbursement, patient collections, patient engagement, and more.

Features:

• A simple charting and easy e-prescribing feature are provided to create patient encounter notes.
• Flowsheets provide you with a holistic view of your patient’s important data.
• A flexible, customizable multi-resource calendar and agenda overview give you visibility of your schedule and important agendas.
• An integrated patient portal is provided for easy sharing and communication by patients.
• Ensures secure messaging with secure sharing of information and maintaining data confidentiality.
• Other services include convenient eLabs, electronic superbills, and many more.

Pros:

• Stage 2 certified.
• Integrated Patient Portal.
• Customizable note types and templates.

Cons:

• Customer support needs improvement.

Verdict: Kareo Clinical has been awarded Small practice ambulatory EMR/PM in 2021. It is recommended for practitioners for configurable and Connected interfaces. It is one of the best EMR Systems for providing security to the data and confidential information through secure messaging and key regulations & compliance.

Pricing:

• Follows per feature pricing model.
• Starts at $125

Website: Kareo Clinical

#2) Athenahealth

Best for voice-guided medical products i.e., athenaOne® Dictation powered by Nuance®.

Athenahealth is an easy-to-use, fully-embedded EHR software that delivers exceptional services including clinical efficiency, coordination, efficient documentation, optimizing performance, and so on. It enables virtual care to the patients via group video conferencing, customizable video windows, integrated billing support, and more.

It reduces documentation time by integrating medical dictation technology with hands-free navigations and personalized user profiles.

Features:

• Surfaces real-time data and insights from customers with intuitive workflows.
• Improves care coordination with other clinicians on the same platform.
• Efficient and accurate documentation is provided and ensures minimal distractions during patient encounters.
• Optimises quality performance with flexible technology.
• Allows mobile access to patient records.
• Actionable insights on the basis of real-time data are provided to take care of decisions.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use EHR.
• Efficient and accurate documentation.
• Mobile access.

Cons:

• Lacks transparent pricing.

Verdict: Athenahealth has been awarded as the best in KLAS Small Practice Ambulatory EMR/PM Winner in 2020. It is best for controlling costs and helping close care gaps.

Pricing:

• $0 hidden cost.
• Charge per percent of the collection.
• Contact for pricing.

Website: Athenahealth

#3) CareCloud Charts

Best for patient engagement and clinical reporting tools.

CareCloud Charts is a top-of-the-line EHR solution that creates better clinical, financial, and operational outcomes with more productive features. It enables you to work smarter with flexible charting options and a unified inbox for streamlining patient encounters and intelligently tracking and managing daily tasks.

It provides exceptional highly-trained support staff to get you quickly and easily on board. It manages everything from managing patient flows to ePrescribing.

Features:

• Provides real-time patient information at the point of care.
• Detailed reporting is provided to track performance and daily tasks.
• Delivers better patient care with features like e-prescribing, clinical reporting tools, managing patient flow, etc.
• Enables easy sharing of content for quick onboarding.
• The glance view feature is provided to show a comprehensive view of a patient’s complete clinical summary.
• Patient summaries include medications, problems, immunizations, and more.
• Clinical Decision Support is provided at the point of care for prescribing the right medications.

Pros:

• Configurable templates.
• Highly trained support staff.
• CDS is available.

Cons:

• Customer support needs improvement.
• Hard Navigation.

Verdict: CareCloud Charts has served more than 40,000 healthcare providers so far. It is recommended for its cloud-based clinical, financial, and administrative services for growing medical groups and organizations.

Pricing: Starts at $279 per month.

Website: CareCloud Charts

#4) AdvancedMD EHR

Best for creating a more personalized patient experience by improving clinical care.

AdvancedMD EHR is an efficient EMR software that unifies all roles of your practice with features like task donuts, patient cards & dashboards,s and more. The dashboards include data related to scheduling, prioritized tasks, and patient information. CDS help is provided to manage the decisions.

It includes various effective features like high-priority checkbox, MACRA, MIPS, CQM reporting, and more. It helps in communicating with the patients to improve relationships & revenue.

Features:

• Provides a fully integrated medical practice management and billing platform for outsourcing RCM.
• Scheduling enables easy drag and drop of setting new appointments.
• Billig, Patient Portal, and reporting are there to practice daily operations efficiently.
• Dashboards show a bird’s-eye view of data like charge slips, clinical notes, prescriptions, etc.
• Allows you to customize the appointment scheduler by provider, location, visit type, and more.
• Enables easily creating clinical notes and managing patient encounters.

Pros:

• Customizable templates.
• Track Schedule II-IV narcotics
• Mobile access.
• Automatic data backup.
• HIPPA is compliant.

Cons:

• Comparatively expensive.

Verdict: AdvancedMD EHR is the best for providing an efficient EHR & EMR dashboard that includes schedule snapshots, task donuts, automated workflow, etc. It facilitates an easy view of deriving the practice.

Pricing:

• Between $229 to $429 per provider per month or,
• $0.58 to $1.42 per encounter.

Website: AdvancedMD EHR

#5) iPatientCare EHR

Best for 30 medical specialties with a provider size between 1 to 50.

iPatientCare EHR is a cloud-based as well as on-premises practice management system that streamlines workflows with efficient charting experience through customizable templates.

It can be integrated with other clinical tools to get the complete data of the patients and have full and clear visibility of patients’ clinical records. It includes a very effective EHR solution with features like telehealth, a patient engagement suite, quality reporting, and so on.

Features:

• The patient engagement suite includes automated patient reminders and mobile app access for patients.
• Telehealth makes it easy for practitioners to connect to patients via audio, video, and chat.
• A fully customizable system that allows you to customize dashboards, templates, and workflows as per your requirement.
• MIPS calculator is provided for visuality into real-time MIPS.
• Can be integrated with other clinical systems like pharmacies, in-office clinical devices, and more.
• Revenue cycle management is provided to maximize revenue and reimbursement potential.

Pros:

• Easy-to-use interface
• Both Cloud based EHR and on-premise options are provided.
• Fully customizable.
• Support MIPS and MACRA eCQMs.
• ONC-ATCB Certified.

Cons:

• Needs proper training for certain reports.

Verdict: iPatientCare EHR is deployed in the US as well as internationally and has over 20 years of experience. It is recommended to provide comprehensive integrated Population Health Management software solutions to leading HHS organizations and practitioners.

Pricing: Around $500 per physician per month.

Website: iPatientCare EHR

#6) Epic

Best for patient portals, e-prescribing features, and telemedicine options.

Epic is a cloud-based interface used in a broad range of practices and is available for both Android and IOS systems. Ican is integrated with other third-party applications due to its open API capabilities. This includes various effective features like a patient portal, patient engagement, telehealth, patient monitoring features, e-prescription, reporting, analytics, and more.

Features:

• Ensure patient data security and privacy irrespective of use on any device.
• Practitioners are attested to Meaningful Use Stage 2.
• Personalized or customizable dashboards and charts are provided to the physicians to include notes.
• Installing any app is not needed to use this software as it is cloud-based. It can be operated on any operating system including Mac and Windows.
• Compliance with regulations like HIPAA, ICD-10, CPT, and HL7.
• Enables the sharing of records of patients with other EHRs easily.

Pros:

• Regulatory compliant.
• Mobile access.
• Cloud-based.

Cons:

• Challenging certification process and navigation for beginners.

Verdict: Epic is recommended for its user-friendly interface that facilitates easy communication between patients and physicians and easy data logging. It is best to provide patient portals that can include automated health reminders, telehealth options, video visits, and more.

Pricing: Contact for pricing.

Website: Epic

#7) Cerner

Best for integrated, interoperable, patient-centered EHR platforms.

Cerner is an EHR solution with integrated clinical, financial, and operational tools. It confidently provides care with effective patient and clinical experiences. It enables the practitioner to make informed, data-driven decisions with powerful decision support that utilizes predictive algorithms.

It provides good implementation support and full-service user-centric support with an iterative approach to identify opportunities for improvement in people, processes, and technology.

Features:

• Delivers services in both inpatient and outpatient settings and enables physicians to take informed data-driven decisions.
• Uses predictive algorithms for rules and alerts.
• Support both mobile and desktop platforms.
• The patient portal is provided for secure messaging, viewing clinical information, requesting refills, updating information, and sending files.
• Allows you to share and access information freely, enabling providers to make informed decisions.
• Revenue Cycle Solutions provides better financial outcomes.

Pros:

• Full-service, user-centric support.
• Mobile access.
• Predictive algorithms.

Cons:

• Slow customer service.

Verdict: Cerner is recommended for its analytics on EHR system performance which includes features like peer comparisons, emailing, alerting, customization, constant monitoring, accessibility, and so on. It provides users with real-time data.

Pricing: Starts at $25 per month.

Website: Cerner

#8) Allscripts

Best for safer and more informed patient care.

Allscripts is an industry-leading EHR solution suitable for small to mid-sized physician practices, ACOs, PCMHs, and FQHCs. It enables efficient and effective patient care, streamlines operations, and takes care of RCM.

It provides users with real-time data, and evaluates, identifies, and closes gaps if found. It speeds up the documentation of patient visits with one-click templates. It enables providers to be productive on the go with mobile access.

Features:

• Ease the documentation of patient visits with one-click templates.
• Mobile support enables physicians to access it on the go.
• Customizable templates are provided for different practice specialties.
• Integrate with other clinical solutions to improve financial and operational efficiencies.
• Built-in actionable analytics evaluates data and finds gaps in care.
• Supports Federally Qualified Health Center reporting.

Pros:

• User-friendly, configurable solution.
• Fully integrated system.
• Regulatory compliant.
• Mobile access.

Cons:

• Lengthy procedures.

Verdict: Allscripts has been awarded the Best in KLAS Global Acute Care EMR (Canada) in 2020 and with KLAS Highest in usability in small practice ambulatory EHR/PM in 2017. It is good for strengthening financial results.

Pricing: Contact for pricing.

Website: Allscripts

#9) GE Healthcare

Best for preparing reports to track the account’s cycle and to manage patient information.

GE Healthcare is an EHR software that helps in communicating with patients efficiently with its effective features like data analytics, digital infrastructure, decision support tools, and many more. It provides reports and actionable insights on quality metrics to third parties.

It can be integrated with other solutions like Revenue Cycle Management, Practice Management Solutions, and more. Various effective features are provided by it including practice management solutions, patient portals, etc.

Features:

• Offers services like e-prescribing, patient engagement, compliance tracking, and many more.
• Helps meet Meaningful Use 2 requirements of the physicians.
• Telemedicine is provided to ease the consultation process by phone, audio, or video.
• Mobile access is there to let users work on the software anytime and from anywhere on the go.
• Can be integrated into any RCM and practice management solution.
• Reporting and analytics are provided on key metrics.

Pros:

• Suitable for all sizes of practices.
• Telephone and email support.
• Easy and simple to learn.

Cons:

• Connectivity issues.

Verdict: GEHealthcare has all the capabilities and functionalities needed for large medical enterprises. It is easy and simple to navigate with little guidance. But there are some of its downsides like it provides no follow-up and the system glitches a few times. It needs to be updated.

Pricing: Contact for pricing.

Website: GE Healthcare

#10) CureMD

Best for secure, integrated, easy-to-use, and HIPAA-compliant telemedicine solutions.

CureMD is a fully-integrated EHR solution with HIPAA compliance that allows appropriate access based on the roles and HIPAA’s Privacy Rules. Simple and efficient features are provided for patients and providers worldwide including dashboards, scheduling, group sessions, calendars, and many more.

It ensures secure file share or transfer between patients and practitioners. It allows secure screen sharing and collaboration.

Features:

• HIPAA regulatory compliance is provided to safeguard clients’ Protected Health Information.
• Role-based security ensures access based on roles and HIPAA’s Privacy Rules.
• Personalized dashboards enable tracking and sending invitations, monitoring patients’ data, and so on.
• Calendar integrations and reminders send automatic alerts to all participants before the start of the session.
• Enables securely managing clinical notes for any session.
• Secure chat & file transfer along with screen sharing and collaboration included.

Pros:

• MIPS, Meaningful use, and ICD-10 guarantee.
• Fast track set up.
• Free hosting.
• Free support and maintenance.

Cons:

• Customer service needs improvement.

Verdict: CureMD has served more than 1,32,000 customers worldwide and has been awarded the #1 Best in KLAS award for practice management as well as for Electronic Health Records in 2015/2016. It is recommended for its premium features including secure recordings, provider collaboration, Virtual Walk-in/Urgent Care Clinic, and API integration.

Further Reading => Best Medical Answering Services to Look For

Pricing:

• Pricing plans are based on features:
  • For Practice Management (PM): $195 per provider per month.
  • For Electronic Health Records (EHR): $295 per provider per month.
  • For all-in-one (PM + EHR): $395 per provider per month.
  • For EHR Cloud: Starting at $295/month.

Website: CureMD

Other Noteworthy EMR Software Systems

#11) eClinicalWorks

Best for patient engagement tools including telehealth, kiosk check-in, patient portal, messenger campaigns, and more.

eClinicalWorks is one of the best EMR systems that has served more than 8,50,000 healthcare professionals and currently has over 80,000 facilities running on eClinicalWorks. It helps in getting patients’ health records from providers and hospitals by using keywords or abbreviations.

It organizes the patient’s health history in an organized timeline view. It controls documentation, labs, prescribing, billing, and follow-up. It offers services like a virtual assistant, in-place editing, dashboards, free interoperability, and more.

Pricing:

• Pricing plans are as:
  • EHR only: $449 per provider per month.
  • EHR + practice management: $599 per provider per month.
  • RCM as a service: 2.9% of practice collection.

Website: eClinicalWorks

#12) Practicefusion

Best for customizable insightful dashboards for tracking quality initiatives.

Practicefusion is an EMR software system that simplifies participation in quality initiatives like MIPS by monitoring progress with insightful dashboards, reporting data, and so on. It is a simple-to-use system made for independent practices to lower the admin burden.

Automatic updates and backup is provided along with cyber security and HIPAA compliance. Effective customer support is provided with guided implementation, tailored or one-on-one onboarding, live webinars, and on-demand training.

Pricing:

• It starts from $149 per provider per month.
• A 14-day free trial is available.

Website: Practicefusion

#13) ADSC EHR

Best for built-in MACRA dashboard to track MIPS reporting data.

ADSC EHR is a specialty-specific electronic health records software that has been trusted by many systems including New Hope, New Bridge Medical Center, Woodbridge Internal Medical Associates, Podiatry Center of New Jersey, and many more.

It helps in producing better outcomes with its effective services like clinical reports, analytics, virtual care, templates, and more. It makes documentation of patient health records easy along with delivering virtual care through texting, kiosk, and telemedicine.

Pricing: Contact for pricing.

Website: ADSC EHR

#14) Greenway Health’s Intergy EMR

Best for ambulatory healthcare practices with three or more doctors.

Greenway Health’s Intergy EMR is a user-friendly, specialty-focused EHR solution. It helps in simplifying notation, automating tasks, and streamlining workflows through its powerful features including clinical template library, EPCS, PDMP, Intergy’s USPS Web tools, e-prescription, and more.

It provides customer support via email, phone, and chat along with in-person and live online training with webinars and documentation.

Pricing:

• A free trial is available.
• Contact for pricing.

Website: Greenway Health’s Intergy EMR

#15) NextGen

Best for increasing productivity and finance along with easy information exchange and patient experience enrichment.

NextGen is one of the EMR systems that aims at making healthcare better, for ambulatory care providers of all sizes. It has served over 1,55,000 caregivers including Ironwood Dermatology, Northwest Valley Health Corporation, and more.

It helps in enriching the patient experience and eases information exchange through its effective feature that includes secure messaging, patient-self scheduling, online health forms, and so on.

Pricing:

• The range is between $299 to $549 per provider per month.

Website: NextGen

#16) Sevocity EMR

Best for enabling better patient care, easy EHR migration, and 24/7/365 support.

Sevocity EMR is a cloud-based EHR solution that provides easy EHR migration services along with easy documentation services for patient encounters and reports. 24/7 live telephone support based in the US is provided for effective customer support.

It is fully customizable that includes custom packages tailored to the practice’s and providers’ preferences. It offers seamless integration with over 30 different PM/Billing interfaces and offers free online training.

Pricing:

• 60-day money-back guarantee.
• Starts at $379 per month.

Website: Sevocity EMR

Conclusion

Through our research, we concluded how essential an EHR or EMR solution is for any healthcare provider.

It not only helps in maintaining online health records of patients by also providing the providers or physicians with other effective services like customizable dashboards, e-prescription, mobile access, revenue cycle management, HIPAA compliance, secure messaging, and so on.

We researched and jotted down the best EMR systems available in the market for EHR and EMR management. Some EMR system examples as reviewed above are Kareo Clinical, Athenahealth, CareCloud Charts, etc. Each EMR Systems come with its distinct set of features with different pricing plans.

Some are good in e-prescription, like- Kareo Clinical, Epic, and more. Some are good in documentation, like-Athenahealth, Allscripts, etc.

Our Review Process:

• Time Taken to Research this Article: We spent 28 hours researching and writing this article so you can get a useful summarised list of EMR Systems with a comparison of each for your quick review.
• Total EMR Systems Researched Online: 20
• Top EMR Systems Shortlisted for Review: 16