Medical Practice Management

CCHIT is Authorized by HHS as Testing and Certification Body for Electronic Health Records

CHICAGO – August 30, 2010 – Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) announced today that it has been recognized by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) under the initial certification program created to certify that electronic health records (EHRs) are capable of meeting the criteria to support meaningful use and qualify  eligible providers and hospitals for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  EMB’s CareRevolution is one of only 13 products in the country with the CCHIT 2011 certification.

“We are gratified to be among the first organizations authorized to certify EHRs by ONC,” said Karen M. Bell, M.D., M.M.S., chair of CCHIT.  “As the originator of EHR certification, CCHIT has tested and certified hundreds of EHRs. Our experience has enabled us to promptly adapt our processes to accommodate the certification and standards adopted by HHS to support the meaningful use of EHRs by healthcare providers.”

CCHIT is authorized to offer HHS certification for complete EHRs that meet all of the Stage 1, 2011/2012 HHS/ONC criteria, as well as certification for modular EHR products that meet one or more – but not all – of the criteria.

CCHIT plans to launch its authorized HHS certification program on September 20 at 1:00 PM Eastern time with a Town Call Web-cast describing its application and testing process. CCHIT will take new health IT developer applications immediately after at http://cchit.org and the first group of HHS certified complete EHRs and EHR modules will be announced within weeks of that launch. More information about the Town Call will be available at http://www.cchit.org/towncalls. The call will be recorded for later viewing.

In addition to HHS certification, CCHIT will continue to offer its CCHIT Certified® program for Ambulatory and Inpatient EHR products that exceed the HHS/ONC criteria and are designed for hospitals and physician practices that are looking for assurance of more robust, integrated EHR products to support the unique needs of its clinicians and patients.   Many of these products will also be HHS certified. 

CCHIT also offers CCHIT Certified® programs for EHRs used in Cardiovascular Medicine, Child Health, Emergency Departments, Behavioral Health, Dermatology and Long-Term and Post-Acute Care. In addition, a certification program for EHRs used in Clinical Research will be available in fall 2010, and programs in Women’s Health and Oncology are in development for launch in spring 2011.

About CCHIT
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology.  The Commission has been certifying electronic health record technology since 2006 and is recognized by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB).  More information on CCHIT, CCHIT Certified® products and HHS certified electronic health record technology is available at http://cchit.org and http://ehrdecisions.com. 

“CCHIT®” and “CCHIT Certified®” are registered trademarks of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.

Is your staff finding it challenging to effectively communicate with difficult patients regarding copayments? Here are a few examples how the Medical Group Managers Association (MGMA) recommends handling these situations.

PATIENT: “I didn’t know I owed this.”

RESPONSE: “Your insurance company and our billing office sends statements informing you of your obligation. The doctor has performed a service and should be paid for it.”

PATIENT: “I don’t have any money with me.”

RESPONSE: “We accept all major credit and debit cards. We do require patients to pay for the services the day they receive them, and did inform you of our office financial policy. It is your responsibility to know your insurance and pay for the portion that is not covered. Would you like to go and make the payment or reschedule your appointment?”

PATIENT: “I forgot my checkbook.”

RESPONSE “We accept all major credit and debit cards. I can swipe your card today and preauthorize any future payments so you won’t have to worry.”

PATIENT: “I mailed a payment just yesterday.”

RESPONSE “Oh, you should have saved the stamp since you had a scheduled appointment and brought the payment with you. That way we would have no questions about a payment being due. I can swipe your credit card and preauthorize a payment. We won’t charge your credit card unless we don’t receive the payment.”

PATIENT: “I just lost my job.”

RESPONSE “I am so sorry. This is affecting so many people. Unfortunately, we are being affected by this economic downturn as well, and unless we collect what is owed, we can’t pay our bills here and then we are at risk of losing our jobs. I can offer you a payment plan or refer you to a subsidized clinic.”

PATIENT: “I’ll pay you after the doctor sees me.”

RESPONSE “I understand your frustration and know that this may seem unusual, but we are bound by our contracts with the insurance company to collect from patients before they are seen. We don’t make these rules but are forced to follow them and pride ourselves on running an ethical and legal practice.”

PATIENT: “I never had to do this before. No other doctor’s office does this.”

RESPONSE “I can’t speak for other offices, but we are following our contract requirements with insurance companies or our office policy. I am sure you will start seeing this more in the future. We pride ourselves on being recognized as one of the top 10 urology practices in the country for our administrative procedures since we really try to do everything to the letter of the recommended practices.”

For more information regarding how EMB can help improve your front desk collections, contact us at 508-259-7972.