The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) today issued a final rule to establish a temporary certification program for electronic health record (EHR) technology. The temporary certification program establishes processes that organizations will need to follow in order to be authorized by the National Coordinator to test and certify EHR technology.
Use of “certified EHR technology” is a core requirement for providers who seek to qualify to receive incentive payments under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs provisions authorized in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. HITECH was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will soon issue final regulations to implement the EHR incentive programs.
Certification is used to provide assurance and confidence that a product or service will work as expected and will include the capabilities for which it was purchased. EHR technology certification does just that: It assures health care providers that the EHR technology 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.
On March 10, 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled Proposed Establishment of Certification Programs for Health Information Technology. The NPRM proposed the establishment of two certification programs for purposes of testing and certifying EHRs — one temporary and one permanent. The temporary certification program final rule issued today will become effective upon publication in the Federal Register. The final rule for the permanent certification program is expected to be published this fall.
“By purchasing certified EHR technology, hospitals and eligible professionals and hospitals will be able to make EHR purchasing decisions knowing that the technology will allow them to become meaningful users of electronic health records, qualify for the payment incentives, and begin to use EHRs in a way that will improve quality and efficiency in our health care system,” said David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., national coordinator for health information technology. “We hope that all HIT stakeholders view this rule as the federal government’s commitment to reduce uncertainty in the health IT marketplace and advance the successful implementation of EHR incentive programs.”
About the Temporary Certification Program and ONC-ATCBs
To provide assurance to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) that the EHR technology they adopt will assist their achievement of meaningful use, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule to establish a temporary certification program for EHR technology on June 18, 2010. The rule outlines how organizations can become ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ONC-ATCBs). Authorized by the National Coordinator, ONC-ATCB are required to test and certify that certain types of her technology (Complete EHRs and EHR Modules) are compliant with the standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria adopted by the HHS Secretary and meet the definition of “certified EHR technology”.
About the Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria
On January 13, 2010, the Secretary published in the Federal Register an interim final rule that adopted standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for HIT. A final rule, which will realign with the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs final rule, is expected to be released in the near future.
What Certification Means for Health Care Providers
EHR technology, certified by an ONC-ATCB must be used in order to qualify for incentive payments. The temporary certification program provides assurance that the EHR technology health care providers adopt is technically capable of supporting their efforts to achieve meaningful use.
What Certification Means for Developers of EHR Technology
The temporary certification program provides a way for developers of EHR technology to have their HIT tested and certified so that it can be subsequently adopted by eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and CAHs who seek to achieve meaningful use.
This final rule is issued under the authority provided to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in section 3001(c)(5) of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) as added by the HITECH Act.
