The draft definition of "meaningful use" of electronic health records asks hospitals to do too much, too soon, and needs to give them more time to make the transition to fully functional EHRs, the AHA today told the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. To qualify for more than $17 billion in federal funding for EHR adoption, the ONC's draft definition would require hospitals to implement computerized physician order entry systems by 2011 - a date that the AHA says is unrealistic. "Because CPOE implementation depends on other EHR components, requires significant cultural changes, and entails significant costs, CPOE should not be required" until at least 2015, the AHA wrote ONC. The definition carries penalties in the form of Medicare reimbursement reductions if hospitals fail to adopt EHRs by 2015. The AHA also proposes changes to the definition's requirements for 2011 and 2013 that are more attainable for hospitals across the country, and said the definition should not require hospitals to share or "exchange" clinical data or report quality measures unless the government has standards in place to support those activities.