What is the purpose of certified
electronic health record (EHR) technology?
The Certification of EHR technology
is a mechanism instituted to assure those who
purchase or use an EHR system or product that the
system and or product has the required technological
capability, functionality and security to meet the
objectives necessary to meet the requirements of
meaningful use for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR
incentive programs. Purchasers of HIT systems and
products should be confident that their investments
meet the goal of advancing health IT and improving
the quality of patient care.
The Health and Human Services Office of the National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
issued a final rule on June 18, 2010 for the
establishment of a health information technology
certification program. The final rules outlines the
temporary certification program for EHR’s and
outlines the process organizations need to pursue to
be authorized to test and certify EHR technology.
The June 18 Health and Human Services press release
stated that “EHR technology certification will
assure healthcare providers that the EHR technology
that they adopt has been tested and includes the
required capabilities they need in order to use the
technology in a meaningful way to improve the
quality of care provided to their patients”.
EHR Certification Bodies
Standards and Certification Criteria Final Rule
ONC has authorized several organizations to perform
testing and certification of EHR’s. The following
organizations have been approved as ONC-Authorized
Testing and Certification Bodies for complete EHR
and EHR modules. Click on the following links to
access information on each of the certifying
organizations:
The Office of the National Coordinator has also published a list of certified
electronic health record technology to assist in product selection. Click on the
following links to access Certified Health IT products
Certified Health IT Product List
The office of the National Coordinator has established answers for the most
frequently asked questions concerning the EHR certification process. To access
the FAQ’s click
here.
