Younger, more technologically savvy physicians are generally assumed to be more likely to adopt electronic health records than doctors who have been practicing for many years. However, new evidence suggests that this may not be the case.

A team of researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston reported in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association that doctors who graduated from medical school more than 10 years before the study were more likely to use EHR systems than individuals who graduated less than 10 years ago.

The research team looked at the number of doctors who used an EHR-based tobacco cessation program in their practice. The results showed that 64 percent of those who graduated more than 10 years previously used the system, compared to 42 percent of those who graduated less than 10 years prior.

Additionally, the findings showed that EHR systems were more popular among busy doctors who treated patients with more medical problems.

The study suggests that age may not be the stumbling block to EHR implementation that many people believe it to be. Practices with more experienced staffs may be just as successful in transitioning to technology as younger offices.