The adoption of electronic health records is progressing at a rapid rate in Massachusetts, as government officials recently announced that more than 140 physicians from across the Commonwealth have qualified for the government's meaningful use program and are now receiving incentive payments.

Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, the state's secretary of health and human services, said that Massachusetts has made significant investments in infrastructure to support physicians' transition to EHRs and that it is starting to pay off with high rates of technology use. This is beginning to drive improvements in care.

"Massachusetts has made significant progress in adopting e-health technology that lead to higher quality care for patients," Bigby said. "Electronic health records and other health information technologies will support advancements in our healthcare delivery system, resulting in lower costs for consumers, employers and government."

Creating the Massachusetts eHealth Institute was one of the most important investments the state made to support the use of EHRs, officials said. This organization provides counseling and technical support to practices looking EHR implementation.