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.
