Now, Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger aims to use the system over the next five years to provide optimized care for patients with chronic diseases.

The health system was able to get the 650 physicians who work for Geisinger to adopt the software because it was mandatory. For the other practices, Geisinger provided limited connectivity to show them the potential benefits, prompting doctors to ask for access to more data.

"If you really approach doctors with what will help them take care of their patients better and not go out of business ... people eventually will say, 'I need to do this.'"

The health system also tapped several physicians to be advocates for the EMRs among their colleagues. "Without that you are dead," Steele said.

Jim Morrow, vice president of North Fulton Family Medicine in Atlanta, said his practice began using EMR software in 1998 to eliminate annual transciptions costs of $110,000. Since then, the practice has been able to reduce the number of workers needed to manage patient charts, he said. In addition, the practice can now use the system to ensure that patients are receiving preventative care such as vaccines.