What is the 21st Century Cures Act information blocking rule?

The 21st Century Cures Act prohibits information blocking — practices by health IT developers, health information networks, and healthcare providers that interfere with access, exchange, or use of electronic health information. Certified EHR technology must support FHIR-based APIs for patient data access and cannot restrict data sharing without a recognized exception.

What is FHIR and why does it matter for EHR data sharing?

FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is the HL7 technical standard for healthcare data exchange. The ONC requires certified EHR technology to support FHIR-based APIs, enabling apps, patient portals, and other health systems to access patient data with appropriate authorization. FHIR is the technical foundation of true EHR interoperability.

How do EHR systems integrate with insurance credentialing workflows?

Some EHRs include credentialing tracking modules that surface license expiration dates and re-credentialing deadlines. However, EHR credentialing modules are tracking tools — they don't submit applications, follow up with payers, or respond to deficiency notices. Actual credentialing execution requires a dedicated service like ProEnrollment regardless of EHR selection.

Difference Between EHR and EMR Explained Simply (2026)

EMR (Electronic Medical Record) is a digital practice-specific chart — data stays within one practice. EHR (Electronic Health Record) is interoperable — designed to share data across providers, labs, and payers. Most modern systems are EHRs by design.

Key Practical Differences

EHRs enable patient record portability, real-time care coordination, population health management, and integrated revenue cycle workflows. EMRs are contained systems that require manual record transfer.

Major EHR Systems in 2026

Epic, Oracle Health (Cerner), athenahealth, DrChrono, eClinicalWorks, Kareo/Tebra, Modernizing Medicine. For small practices: athenahealth, DrChrono, and Kareo/Tebra are commonly recommended.

EHR and Insurance Credentialing

EHR selection doesn't change credentialing — you apply through CAQH, PECOS, and payer portals regardless of EHR. ProEnrollment handles credentialing alongside any EHR system. Free consultation.

The Practical Differences That Affect Your Workflow

An EMR is a digital chart — one practice's clinical records, built for documentation and internal workflow. An EHR is designed for exchange: it follows the patient across organizations through interoperability standards (FHIR, HL7, C-CDA), connects to health information exchanges, and supports the data-sharing requirements in programs like Medicare's Promoting Interoperability. In purchasing terms, nearly every modern system markets itself as an EHR; the real questions are interoperability depth, specialty fit, and billing integration.

What This Means for Credentialing and Billing

Your EHR choice intersects with payer operations more than most buyers realize: payer enrollment data (PTANs, group NPIs, payer IDs) must be configured per payer before clean claims flow; eligibility verification and prior-auth integrations vary widely by system; and telehealth modules need correct place-of-service and modifier handling for current rules. When onboarding with a new payer, the credentialing effective date and the EHR payer configuration both must exist before billing — practices regularly have one without the other and generate avoidable denials. Credentialing services | telehealth practice setup | questions? talk to us.