Electronic health record (EHR)

An electronic health record is the digital equivalent of a patient's clinical notes: consultations, problems, medications, allergies, results and correspondence held in one structured, searchable timeline rather than paper files or scattered documents.

The distinction that matters most is between an EHR and a practice management tool. Practice management software runs the diary, billing and admin; an EHR holds the clinical record itself, ideally as structured data rather than free text, so it can support safer prescribing, audit and reporting rather than just storage.