CIS vs. EHR Systems

Various software systems are now available for behavioral health clinics to use, all to the benefit of their patients. Two of the most prominent software technologies available are CIS and EHR systems, which are often confused. To shed light on these systems and what makes them unique, we’ve outlined the benefits and uses of CIS vs. EHR systems and how they can be used together to provide seamless information.

What Is a CIS System?
CIS is short for Clinical Information System, which is a computer-based system designed to collect, store and manipulate clinical information about patients. These systems are often used either in single locations within a clinic or across an entire behavioral health organization. They pick data directly from a variety of sources, including equipment and information repositories on the network, collecting and integrating all data for the future use of physicians.

What Is an EHR System?
EHR is short for Electronic Health Record and serves as a storage system for healthcare data for patients. EHR connects to various software systems, collecting the data for immediate use by the physician during patient meetings or checkups. These systems are connected to CIS, HIS, RIS, PACS and LIS systems, collecting data from these sources and integrating it all into a seamless report.

What Are the Differences Between CIS and EHR Systems?
While these systems may seem very similar, they serve entirely different purposes. CIS is highly specific, storing and managing information collected directly from equipment and caretaker inputs. The EHR is more generalized and serves as a way to provide seamless, unified information about the patient to the physician to inform their care. In other words, these two technologies differ in the following ways:

• Specificity: CIS systems are highly specific systems, storing detailed information on each patient from a variety of sources.
• Scale: EHRs contain a vastly wider amount of information compared to CIS systems, often encompassing various fields and health topics.
• Purpose: While the advantage of EHRs is their general nature and use in surface-level diagnoses and health conversations, detailed information from CIS systems is needed to help physicians make decisions about the patient’s condition and treatment options, as well as keep up to date on their treatment progress.

How Do They Work Together?EHR and CIS systems can work together to provide a more comprehensive view of a patient’s health. EHR systems can pull information from CIS systems to deliver detailed information to decision-making physicians so that they are better able to treat their patients appropriately. These CIS and EHR benefits are taken one step further with cloud-based EHR systems, which can deliver this information to physicians regardless of their location. They can then respond more immediately. The result, in short, is a more responsive healthcare experience for patients.

Orion’s AccuCare system offers these benefits and more with a system that is customized to fit the needs of mental and behavioral health clinics. On top of the benefits of a web-based EHR system, we can deliver even more functionality with one that will work for you instead of against you.

Learn More
Are you interested in learning more about the capabilities of the Orion Healthcare Technology EHR system? Call 800-324-7966 or contact us online to get a FREE demonstration of the software.