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CERTIFICATION COMMISSION INVITES PUBLIC COMMENT ON UPCOMING REQUIREMENTS
Organization aims for pilot test of certification program by summer 2005

CHICAGO, April 12—In a move toward its goal of pilot testing the certification program by the summer of 2005, The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) will make the Phase I interim products of its Work Groups available for public comment on April 18, 2005. This first release represents an important milestone in the Commission’s work, and will be followed by a second public comment period later this year. Each of the Work Groups—Functionality, Interoperability, Security and Reliability, and Certification Process—has drafted a proposed set of requirements to be used in certifying electronic health record (EHR) products for the ambulatory care setting. The Commission’s goal of creating a credible process for certifying EHR products is a first step in an effort to accelerate the adoption of health information technology (HIT) that can improve U.S. healthcare quality, safety and efficiency.

“We are very pleased with the progress that the Work Groups are making on this ground-breaking project,” says Douglas E. Henley, MD, executive vice president of the American Academy of Family Physicians and a member of the commission. “The collaboration and openness that they are showing with this early first view of the certification criteria development process is crucial to bringing us closer to the availability of certified EHRs in the physician offices where most people receive their care.”

The CCHIT Work Groups are eager to receive responses to this early effort so they can consider them while continuing to refine the certification requirements and test procedures. The Work Groups are comprised of 40 members appointed in November 2004 from a broad range of physician, HIT vendor, HIT standards, health insurer and health informatics and information management experts. The Work Groups first met in early December 2004 and have pursued an aggressive schedule in formulating this first set of draft requirements.

The Commission will publish the Phase I interim requirements and procedures on April 18, 2005 through the organization’s Web site, www.cchit.org. Visitors to the site will be able to view the work of all four groups and will be invited to submit direct comments to the Work Groups or the Commission. This first 30 day comment period will close on May 18, 2005. The results of this first phase review will be incorporated into a Phase II version that will be issued for a second round of public comment later this year.

“The Commission and its Work Groups are very interested in getting responses to this early-stage work product. Listening to and balancing the needs of all stakeholders will be key to gaining acceptance and support for certification, “said Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD, CCHIT chair. “ To meet our initial objective of accelerating the adoption of electronic health record technology in physician offices, we need broad participation in developing certification requirements that will assure these systems are robust and interoperable.”

Public response to this first release is being solicited through an active outreach program including the media as well as contact with physician, vendor, payer, and public policy organizations. In addition, beginning the week of April 18, the Commission will conduct a series of Town Call teleconference/web casts to explain the thinking behind the interim work products and answer questions. More information about the topics and schedule of the Town Call events is available at www.cchit.org.

About CCHIT
CCHIT was formed in July 2004 by three leading industry associations in healthcare information management and technology—American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and The National Alliance for Health Information Technology (Alliance). The mission of CCHIT is to accelerate the adoption of robust, interoperable healthcare information technology throughout the United States by creating and efficient, credible, sustainable mechanism for the certification of healthcare IT products. CCHIT’s initial focus is on the certification of EHRs and related clinical IT products in the physician office and ambulatory setting. More information on the CCHIT is available at www.cchit.org.