WASHINGTON — Wonder why adoption of a national electronic prescribing and electronic health record system is taking so long? A new study provides the answer: fewer than 1-in-10 physicians are using “fully operational” automation systems that provide electronic health records and e-prescribing capabilities.

Such systems would allow doctors to collect patient information, display test results, enter medical orders and prescriptions and get instant help in making treatment decisions, noted researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and George Washington University. But in a major study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the federal government’s National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, those researchers found scant evidence that physicians have embraced electronic health record [EHR] technology in their efforts to improve patient care.

In their report, titled Health Information Technology in the United States: The Information Base for Progress, researchers estimated that roughly 1-in-4 physicians have at least begun using EHRs in their treatment. But widespread adoption is still far off, they contend.

We are pitifully behind where we should be, said study co-author David Blumenthal, M.D., director of the Institute for Health Policy. “We must find ways to get more physicians to embrace this technology if we are to make major strides in improving health care quality.”

Behind the sluggish adoption rate of e-health systems among practitioners, according to the study, are “multiple financial, technical and legal barriers.”

“The fact that physicians have to conform to multiple e-prescribing standards is a hindrance to adoption,” said Mark Merritt, president of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. Congress must adopt a national e-prescribing standard that will encourage widespread adoption by physicians, resulting in greater quality, safety and reduced costs.”