Electronic health records (EHR) reduce paperwork and medical errors, and can improve health care efficiency and safety.[
2-4] Sophisticated EHR systems that include clinical decision support alerts and reminders can decrease utilization by reducing adverse drug events, offering alternatives to expensive medications, and reducing the use of laboratory and radiology tests. [
5] EHR adoption by office-based physicians has steadily increased over the last several years. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, allocated $19 billion to providers to enable the establishment and meaningful use of EHR.