CCHIT Announces First Certified EHR

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has announced the first group of products certified under its two new programs, CCHIT Certified 2011 Comprehensive and Preliminary ARRA 2011, launched on October 7. Both programs inspect EHR technology for the first time against proposed federal standards to support providers in qualifying  for 2011-2012 incentives under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

“The ARRA incentives have the potential to significantly accelerate adoption of EHR technology by office-based physicians, other eligible providers, and hospitals,” says Alisa Ray, the commission’s executive director. “These first four health IT companies, demonstrating their compliance with the proposed federal standards, are now able to offer certified products to providers who wish to purchase and implement EHR technology and achieve meaningful use in time for the 2011-2012 incentives. We’ve had about 25 applications in our 2011 programs and inspections are continuing.  Look for additional announcements from these early applicants in the upcoming days and weeks.”

Both certification programs are represented among the four products. The CCHIT Certified 2011 Comprehensive program differs from the Preliminary ARRA certification program by providing a more rigorous inspection of integrated EHR functionality, interoperability, and security in addition to full compliance with federal standards. As part of the Comprehensive inspection process, key aspects of successful use are verified at live sites, and usability is rated. The CCHIT Certified Comprehensive program is intended to serve healthcare providers looking for maximal assurance that a product will meet their complex needs, as well as support their achievement of meaningful use to qualify for the ARRA financial incentives.

The product certified in the CCHIT Certified 2011 Comprehensive program is ABELMed EHR-EMR/PM, Version 11, by ABEL Medical Software Inc.

The Preliminary ARRA 2011 program is a modular, limited certification and inspects technology only against the federal standards. It offers maximal flexibility for HIT companies, developers, and providers in meeting ARRA 2011-2012 certification requirements. The products certified in the Preliminary ARRA 2011 program are as follows:

• eHealth Made EASY, Version 3, by eHealth Made EASY, LLC, supporting two of 27 meaningful use objectives  for eligible providers and two of 24 objectives for hospitals;
• KIS Track, Version 5.1, by Kaulkin Information Systems, supporting two of 27 objectives for eligible providers; and
• Medios, Version 4.5, by IOS Health Systems, supporting 27 of 27 objectives for eligible providers.

The Certification Facts label displayed with every product listing describes all certifications granted and lists which meaningful use objectives are supported by the technology. The ARRA certification component of both programs is considered preliminary because the definitions of meaningful use, criteria, and standards have been proposed but not yet finalized by Health and Human Services. HIT companies testing against the proposed standards now will be provided the opportunity to quickly close any gaps after the final rules are published in the Federal Register in spring 2010.

Source: Certification Commission for Health Information Technology