BOSTON – According to recent studies, the success of Massachusetts hospitals and physicians in adopting healthcare information technology is due in large part to incentives from health plans and state-mandated requirements.

The studies, conducted by Falls Church, Va.-based CSC and sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, show the adoption of computerized physician order entry at hospitals in Massachusetts is nearly double the national average, while the use of e-prescribing is the highest in the nation.

As well, more than one-third of ambulatory physicians are using at least basic electronic health record capabilities, a rate more than two times the national average.

The research suggests these statistics are the direct result of incentives. These include incentives from health plans, a campaign by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to educate hospitals on the value of new technologies and a state-mandated deadline to have CPOE implemented in all hospitals within four years.

"The research clearly shows the progress that has been made in the state to increase adoption of clinical information technology," said Greg LeGrow, director of e-Health Innovation for BCBS of Massachusetts. "We still have a ways to go, but the results are encouraging and demonstrate the impact aligned efforts can have to further the use of technology that improves the quality and affordability of care delivered."

Some health plans wrote CPOE implementation incentives into hospital contracts; others provided free e-prescribing software to physicians and offered incentives to encourage continued usage.

Partners Community Healthcare, Inc., a Needham, Mass.-based network of 1,000 primary care providers and 3,500 specialists, set a deadline for use of an EHR system as a condition for network participation.

"This data reveals that incentives are making a dramatic difference," said Deward Watts, president of CSC's global healthcare sector. "While Massachusetts has a distinct advantage in terms of support from the state government and stakeholder groups, this successful model can be replicated nationwide to create a healthcare infrastructure that significantly improves patient outcomes."

The studies, "Adoption of Advanced Clinical Systems in Massachusetts Hospitals" and "Adoption of Electronic Health Record Capabilities in Massachusetts Physician Practices," were conducted in the summer of 2008. They include responses from 519 physicians, or roughly 3 percent of the physician population of Massachusetts, and 27 CIOs and hospital executives representing 43 facilities, or approximately 60 percent of the hospitals in the state.