The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has already convinced the majority of medical professionals of the benefits of electronic health records, but experts say that was only half the battle. Educating consumers about the technology could play a key role in delivering on the promise of a networked healthcare system.

Lygeia Ricciardi, ONC senior policy adviser for consumer e-health, told Government Health IT that treatment outcomes for costly chronic diseases are not often determined by what happens in the physician's office. Getting patients to follow their doctor's treatment advice is the best way to improve outcomes.

When you make it easy for patients to ask their doctor questions online through a secure, encrypted site, people tend to become more proactive about their health and interested in living a healthier life.

"The vast majority of outcomes are not determined by what happens in the doctor's office but by a number of other factors," Ricciardi told the news source. "Whether it's taking your medication or following providers' courses of treatment or making your own choices in care, they will have immense impact on your overall health level."

In order to get more patients involved in using EHR technology, the ONC announced an initiative in August to make personal health records more attractive to consumers by educating them on the benefits of the systems.