While the federal government pushes for more doctors and health-care providers to use information technologies to cut costs and reduce medical errors, more than a fifth of all states don't yet have laws that permit the use of electronic prescriptions, one of the more-basic health IT tools.

SureScripts, one of the largest providers of E-prescribing services, says 39 states have what it calls "favorable" statues and regulations permitting doctors to connect electronically with pharmacies for prescription transactions. A map of the states and their status is available here, with details on each state.

However, nine have reforms "in progress," meaning some issues remain to be worked out before E-prescribing connectivity can move forward in those states, SureScripts concludes. Only two states--Wyoming and South Carolina--have unfavorable regulations. "Many insurance companies and health plans are very focused on developing incentive programs for E-prescribing," and easy access to this information can help, says Tammy Lewis, SureScripts' chief marketing officer.

Lewis says SureScripts and local partners are working with the pharmacy boards and other regulatory bodies of "in-progress" and "unfavorable" states, with a goal of having all of them "favorable" by the end of this year.