January 19, 2010 - CCHIT.org 

 

Chicago - The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) today announced that both of its electronic health record (EHR) technology certification programs will be updated to conform to the Interim Final Rule (IFR) recently released by Health and Human Services (HHS), and that applications will open on the rule's effective date of February 12, 2010.

 

The IFR, entitled "Health Information Technology: Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria for Electronic Health Record Technology," was published in the Federal Register on January 13, along with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) describing the meaningful use objectives and incentive payment schedules for adoption of certified EHRs.

 

"Our aim is to ensure that hospitals and doctors have enough time to purchase and implement certified EHRs and achieve meaningful use in time to qualify for HHS financial incentives in 2011 and 2012," said Alisa Ray, the Commission's executive director.  "With eligibility for hospitals opening in October 2010, there is an urgent need for certification programs to be in place." 

 

 

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