They are moving away from paper records to improve patient care, enable easier exchange of health data and reduce medical errors.

These providers are taking part in a national initiative called the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Program. In West Virginia, this program is administered by the West Virginia Regional Health Information Technology Extension Center and the state Bureau for Medical Services. More than 100,000 health-care providers across the country are part of the effort.

These professionals, clinics and hospitals have recognized the potential of electronic health records to provide better patient care, minimize medical errors, cut down on paperwork and eliminate duplicate screenings and tests.

Electronic records:

• Offer more accurate and complete information about a patient's health. This will enable providers to give the best possible care.

• Provide the ability to better coordinate care. This is especially important if a patient or a loved one has a serious medical condition or if you are helping to care for a family member.

• Include a way to securely share information with the patient electronically. This means patients and family members can take part more fully in health decisions.

• Put information at the fingertips of health-care providers, meaning they can diagnose problems sooner, reduce medical errors and provide safer, more affordable care.

• Give the ability to transfer and exchange a patient's health data easily once states have completed health information exchange protocols and systems.

Electronic health records can enhance routine medical care by reminding a primary-care doctor about the timing of appropriate preventive services for a patient's general well-being or for a specific issue related to managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or asthma.

For patients, electronic health records will mean less paperwork at office visits, reliable sources of information and reminders, convenient and safe e-prescriptions electronically sent to the pharmacy, online interaction with providers and electronic referrals to specialists.

More widespread use will build a healthier future for our state and nation. In the not-too-distant future, public health agencies will be able to look at general health data and observe patterns. With this digitized data, they might be able to examine ways to reduce gaps in health, highlight ways to improve health care, and identify and respond quickly to public health emergencies.

The best news of all is that electronic health record systems have reached an important milestone -- the majority of physicians now are using them. A new survey from the Centers for Disease Control show that 55 percent of physicians' offices used an electronic records system in 2011, up from 50.7 percent in 2010. That percentage is expected to increase.

Doctors using the systems like them and are finding them beneficial. Eighty-five percent were either very or somewhat satisfied with their systems. Nearly 75 percent said use of the systems resulted in better care.

Reports of specific health-care improvements are starting to show up. The New England Journal of Medicine reported the use of electronic health records led to significantly higher achievement and improvement in meeting standards of care and outcomes in diabetes compared to using paper records. A study of Texas hospitals found that those with more advanced health IT showed fewer deaths and fewer complications among patients.

Putting health information technology and electronic records into place has not been an easy undertaking, but the benefits will continue to be far-reaching and significant for all of us. Ask your health-care provider about electronic heath records and whether he or she is part of this revolution.