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The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) will proceed with its planned launch of two new certification programs on Oct. 7. In addition to an updated comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) certification program, called CCHIT Certified 2011, the organization will offer a modular certification program called Preliminary ARRA 2011 that is limited to the standards for qualifying EHR technology under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
"There is a high risk that providers would not achieve meaningful use to qualify for the ARRA incentives in 2011 and 2012 if they wait until late 2010 to implement certified EHR systems and technologies," said Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD, chair of the Commission, in a statement.
The Commission has followed and analyzed the emerging recommendations of the health information technology advisory committees to the Office of the National Coordinator, and believes there is sufficient information to offer the preliminary ARRA certification now.
Criteria and standards are expected to be published by the Department of Health and Human Services by the end of 2009, and final rules on meaningful use are expected later in the spring of 2010. If that process results in the introduction of new requirements, the Commission will offer vendors with preliminary certifications an incremental inspection at no additional fee to bring their certifications into alignment with the final rules. The Commission's certification materials, including criteria, test scripts and certification policies for both programs, will be published at www.cchit.org on Sept. 24. Applications for certification will be open online on Oct. 7.
To prepare HIT companies and developers to make their 2011 certified EHR technology available to providers sooner, CCHIT is offering a workshop in the Chicago area on Oct. 1. The purpose of the workshop, Get Certified 2011, is to orient companies and developers to the new certification process and to use the new certification program tools effectively. More information about the workshop is available here.
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