e-Records Certification Expands
By
John Pulley
A new program from the nonprofit Certification Commission for Health IT (CCHIT) will allow hospitals to certify older or custom electronic health records (EHRs). A similar program for physicians is coming in the second quarter of this year, CCHIT says.
The program, known as the EHR Alternative Certification for Hospitals (EACH), was tested at three hospitals in Boston, New York City and Pasadena, Calif., CCHIT says in a news release. It includes self-paced, online learning programs to prepare applicants for testing and certification; online inventory and self-assessment tools; and hands-on support from CCHIT.
The EACH program is designed to "meet the often complex needs of hospitals that have uncertified legacy software, customized commercial products, or have developed their own EHR systems to suit their individual needs," says Dr. Karen Bell, the commission's chair.
Pasadena's Huntington Memorial Hospital, for example, had implemented a variety of technologies from several vendors, says Rebecca Armato, the hospital's executive director of physician and interoperability services.
"Some of our applications are fully certified but we chose not to purchase some modules, relying instead on 'best of breed' applications we have already implemented. Some are niche products that aren't yet certified, and some are self-developed," she says in the CCHIT news release. The new certification program lets the hospital "leverage its existing technology investments" and rely less on vendors' resources and schedules, she says.
CCHIT is one of several organizations authorized to certify that electronic health records meet federal standards for "meaningful use," a set of standards that hospitals and medical practices must attain to qualify for their share of an estimated $34 billion in Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.
Most certification efforts to date have focused on new health IT products. CCHIT alone has certified more than 145 new products meeting standards set by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.