EMRs use on the slight rise. Source: American Academy of Family Physicians

The number of office-based physicians using full or partial EHR systems jumped 22 percent in 2007 over 2006, according to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics. Currently, about one-third of U.S. office-based physicians are using EHRs.

The survey said nearly one in four physicians without an EHR system plan to install one within the next three years.

According to the results, physicians in the Northeast were more likely to have an EHR system. Physicians who worked for a practice owned by a health maintenance organization or worked in an urban area were also more likely to use them.

The survey also found that many physicians with the systems are not using all of their features. For example, approximately 64 percent used reminders for screening tests or recommended therapies, only about 53 percent used computerized prescription order entry and about 57 percent used computerized test order entry. “These are the features that may be most likely to result in improved management and quality of care," the survey authors wrote.