AMA to ONC: EHR Certification Headed in the Wrong Direction

An American Medical Association-led coalition of 35 medical societies believes that the EHR certification program is headed in the wrong direction and recently sent a letter to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology strongly recommending the following seven changes to improve the certification process:

• decouple EHR certification from the meaningful use program;

• reconsider alternative software testing methods;

• establish greater transparency and uniformity on user centered design testing and process results;

• incorporate exception handling into EHR certification;

• develop consolidated clinical document architecture guidance and test to support exchange;

• seek further stakeholder feedback; and

• increase education on EHR implementation.

To view the EHR certification letter, visit http://mb.cision.com/Public/373/9710840/9053557230dbb768.pdf.

Source: American Medical Association