Physician practices must have an electronic health record (EHR) system reviewed and certified by Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) or the Drummond Group Inc. to earn EHR Incentive Program bonuses in 2011, HHS announced on Aug. 30.
Vendors can have either group certify that products meet CMS's standards for the incentive program. "By purchasing certified products, providers will have assurance that the products will support achievement of the meaningful use objectives," HHS said in a press release.
We should start to see EHR systems certified pretty soon. According to Drummond's website, vendors must allocate one business day for testing. "A product or system that has been fully debugged by pre-testing over the NIST test methods and manned by a knowledgeable member of your testing team should not have difficulty in completing testing in approximately one business day," the Austin, Texas company says in its EHR Testing and Certification Guide. "However, a product or system that has not gone through a complete company-internal QA testing process or is manned by personnel unfamiliar with the testing criteria will likely not complete in the allotted time."
Those vendors who pass the test will receive a "Certificate of EHR Compliance" that can be utilized for marketing purposes.
HHS notes more certification groups may be on the way, but CCHIT and Drummond are the first two.
Editor's note: Part B News is sponsoring the 2010 National Physician Practice EMR Workshop & Expo - jam-packed with experts who will take you step-by-step through the incentive rules. EHR vendors will be there too, demonstrating meaningful use examples of EHR success. This is a unique event focused for the physician office provider. Sign up for this national conference today at: www.decisionhealth.com/physicianemr.