Fewer than one in 10 doctors uses a "fully operational" electronic health record system, according to a study released in October 2006 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation the federal government's National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

Shifting from paper to digital medical records is one of the few health care reforms on which most people can generally agree, with many reports citing the potential of large savings of lives and dollars. This study, which purports to be the most comprehensive to date on the use of health information technology (IT), found that, despite this consensus, multiple financial, technical and legal barriers stand in the way of progress on this front.

"We are pitifully behind where we should be," study co-author Dr. David Blumenthal said. "We must find ways to get more physicians to embrace this technology if we are to make major strides in improving health care quality."

• Health Information Technology in the United States: The Information Base for Progress