A federal workgroup yesterday expressed support for giving hospitals and physicians greater flexibility in meeting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' proposed rule on meaningful use. The rule specifies proposed requirements to qualify for electronic health record incentive payments from Medicare and Medicaid beginning in 2011 and avoid significant payment penalties in 2015. The Health Information Technology Committee workgroup considered a proposal to provide limited flexibility in achieving meaningful use, as well as recommendations to make some requirements more rigid. However, the full committee was not in agreement on all of these recommendations. Several members called for even greater flexibility and recommended that computerized physician order entry should not be mandatory in the early years of the incentive program. During the discussion, National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal recognized the limits of the program, noting, "You can't fix every flaw in the health care system through an electronic record." More on the workgroup's recommendations can be found on the committee's Web site.