Certified EMR FAQs
What is an EMR?
An EMR is a secure Electronic Medical Record which includes software and its associated database. It is the record that physicians use to capture patient information such as a patient's family history, lab requests and results, cancer screening tests, emergency room visits, prescriptions, and more.
What is an OntarioMD-certified Electronic Medical Record (EMR)?
An OntarioMD-certified EMR is an EMR that meets the current Ontario EMR Specifications and complies with additional requirements such as those relating to privacy and security practices, service levels and other obligations contained in an agreement with OntarioMD.
All certified EMR offerings must continue to comply with the Ontario EMR Specifications as they are updated from time to time in order to maintain their certified status.
Only OntarioMD-certified EMR offerings may be connected to provincial electronic health record (EHR) solutions and services such as Health Report Manager (HRM), the Ontario Laboratories Information System (OLIS), and future provincial EHR solutions and services as they become available.
Get more information on current Ontario EMR Specifications.
Get more information on current OntarioMD-certified EMRs.
What are Ontario EMR Specifications?
Ontario's EMR Specifications are the business and technical requirements that EMR offerings must meet in order to be certified by OntarioMD. Certification of any new EMR offerings in Ontario will be based on validation according to the current EMR Specifications.
Get more information on current Ontario EMR Specifications.
What is the difference between a local EMR and an ASP EMR?
An ASP EMR is hosted at a secure data centre and is accessed by physicians and their staff over communications lines while the local EMR is situated in one of the locations for the group of participating physicians. In both cases, EMRs can be accessed from the practice or another location, such as at home. Please see EMR Configurations for additional information.
The ASP EMR provides systems management functions including disaster recovery, data security, business continuity, capacity planning and server infrastructure, and facilities interacting with ehealth applications.
With the local EMR solution, the group is responsible for implementing and maintaining system management functions.
Where can I get an OntarioMD-certified EMR?
The following vendors offer OntarioMD-certified EMR offerings: ABEL Soft Corporation, Alpha Global IT Inc., Canada Health Systems Inc., Indivica Inc., Nightingale Informatix Corporation., OSCAR EMR, P&P Data Systems Inc., QHR Technologies Inc., TELUS Health Solutions, YES Medical System, and YMS Inc.
Please consult the Vendor Market Share Report for the latest market share information for each vendor.
Details about current OntarioMD-certified EMRs, including vendor contact information.
How can I make an informed decision in selecting an EMR offering?
- Define your practice's objectives; why do you want to adopt an EMR?
- Build and educate a selection team; your team should include a range of employees from different departments.
- Gather your functional, technical, financial, and vendor requirements; what do you expect from your EMR?
- Vendor evaluation: how are vendors responding to your requirements and how do they perform when challenged with clinical scenarios?
- Perform site visits and ask your colleagues for references; what are your colleagues' experiences with preferred vendors?
- Negotiate a contract; can you come to an agreement with your preferred vendor? You may wish to have the contract reviewed by the OMA.
How can I prepare my practice for an EMR?
Prepare your practice for an EMR by contacting one of OntarioMD's Practice Advisors at 1-866-339-1233 or support@ontariomd.com. They will work with you to help establish your goals, understand your technology needs, go through the selection process, and help you get the most out of your EMR after you've implemented it.
For more information, watch OntarioMD's video, "Prepare Your Practice For EMR".