CCHIT opens ARRA certification
By Wendy Johnson
Although HHS has yet to publish its criteria for “meaningful use” of EHRs, the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology is pushing forward with a new certification program that opened Wednesday.
“We don’t want to lose time,” Dr. Mark Leavitt, CCHIT chairman, told AHIMA Conference attendees Monday in Grapevine, Texas. To date, CCHIT is the only body recognized by the federal government to certify EHRs to qualify for ARRA funding. “We’re skating toward where the puck is going to be rather than waiting for it to move,” Leavitt said.
CCHIT now offers two types of EHR certification. Both would likely expire on Dec. 31, 2012:
- CCHIT Certified 2011–Maximum assurance that it has comprehensive, integrated EHR capabilities and that it meets or exceeds ARRA standards. This certification is tailored to specific uses, such as ambulatory clinics, child health, e-prescribing, inpatient settings and emergency departments.
- Preliminary ARRA 2011 Certification–Maximum flexibility in meeting ARRA standards. This option is designed for vendors, developers and providers to ensure they will meet the 2011 certification requirements when HHS finalizes the rules next spring. This “chocolate and vanilla” certification is designed for vendors to give them the “thumbs up on the ARRA side,” Leavitt said.
The commission will add a third, site-specific program for healthcare providers around June 2010, including for long-term care, post-acute care, behavioral health and other settings, he said.
Above article published on
October 12, 2009 No Comments
Don’t wait until next year to implement EMR, Leavitt warns
By Wendy Johnson
Physician practices and hospitals that have yet to select or implement an EMR system should get a move on. Those who wait until next year will face a “high risk” of failing to achieve “meaningful use” of health IT in time for the 2011-12 federal incentives, Mark Leavitt, chairman of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology, warned at the annual AHIMA conference on Monday in Grapevine, Texas.
“You’re dreaming if you think you can achieve it in less than a year,” Leavitt said, referring to hospitals. Achieving meaningful use of an EMR system will take at least 18 months, if not two years, he warned.
HHS expects to publish its criteria for certification of EMRs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as well as its definition of “‘meaningful use” for qualifying for ARRA Incentives, by the end of the year. Both measures should be finalized by spring 2010 after a public comment period. All told, the federal government will pony up $34 billion in incentives for meaningful use of certified EMR technology–the equivalent of what the U.S. spent to send the first man to the moon, Leavitt said.
Above article published on
October 12, 2009 No Comments