NEW FUNDING BUTTRESS EFFORTS TO CERTIFY ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD PRODUCTS
California HealthCare Foundation Funding Adds to Industry Support

CHICAGO, June 15—The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT), an independent, private sector initiative to certify health information technology (HIT) products, announced today that it has received a $219,000 grant from the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) to support the national certification process for Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The grant will help support the development of a test methodology and testing procedures, selection of test entities and coordination of a certification pilot.

“EHR products hold great potential to improve the quality and efficiency of care in the physician office, consumers’ main point of contact with the health care system,” said Sam Karp, Chief Program Officer at the California HealthCare Foundation. “Certifying that EHR products meet specified standards for functionality, security and interoperability is an important step in encouraging investment in these products, especially for physicians in solo and small practices,” said Karp.

The support from CHCF augments more than $100,000 in recent unrestricted funding to CCHIT from healthcare industry stakeholders, including physician associations, providers, payers and vendors. That funding will allow CCHIT to continue its work as an independent, private sector initiative to certify health information technology (HIT) products. Seed funding for CCHIT came from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and the National Alliance for Health Information Technology (Alliance).

The Commission will publish the Phase II version of its work products on July 11, 2005 for a second 30-day round of public comment. A series of public Town Calls is planned from July 12 through July 21, 2005 to introduce the Phase II materials and answer questions. More information about the Town Calls will be available at www.cchit.org. The final version will be pilot tested with actual EHR products in the fall.

“As the Commission’s work evolves, we appreciate the support that CHCF and others are providing to bring us closer to our goals”, said Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD, CCHIT chair.

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. More information on the CCHIT is available at www.cchit.org.

About CHCF
The California HealthCare Foundation, based in Oakland, is an independent philanthropy committed to improving California's health-care delivery and financing systems. Formed in 1996, our goal is to ensure that all Californians have access to affordable, quality health care. More information about CHCF is available at www.chcf.org.