Adoption of EHRs may be slower than government officials would like at this point, but they can expect to see the rate at which smaller practices implement the technology increase significantly in the coming years, according to a new report.

IDC Health Insights recently released a review in which it predicts that physician adoption of EHRs will surpass 80 percent by the year 2016. The implementation rate was just 25 percent in 2009.

The report cites government incentives and regulatory provisions at the most important factors spurring the rapid anticipated growth. However, many physicians are also interested in the improvements in quality of care associated with EHRs as well as the ability to view data on mobile devices, the authors noted.

In the expected rush to adopt EHR systems, the report noted that practices should spend some time making sure they select a vendor that meets their specific needs. The authors stated that there is no one-size-fits-all approach that can produce effective results. Researching vendors is an important aspect of EHR implementation.