Welcome to EMR and HIPAA Wiki!!
We're just getting started so register and start adding information to the wiki.
Let's make this the best place to find organized information about Electronic Medical Record (EMR), Electronic Health Record (EHR) and HIPAA.
Certified EHR
From EMR, EHR and HIPAA Wiki
Certification of EMR/EHR solutions was, prior to mid-2010, solely authorized through an organization known as CCHIT. Requirements for CCHIT certification were set by CCHIT.
Recently, as a result of healthcare reform legislation passed in 2009, the department of Health and Human Services has authorized additional agents to certify certain functionality of EMR/EHR technology as meeting standards to satisfy a specific set of "meaningful use" rules. The healthcare reform act provides funds to incent physicians (over a 5 year period) to obtain and use EMR/EHR technology.
The government's intent, however, was not simply to encourage the purchase of EMR/EHR technology, but to ensure that such technology was able to perform specific tasks (such as, for example, electronic prescribing) and that such technology was in fact being used by providers on a significant portion of their patients. Thus, these standards were meant to ensure that EMR/EHR technology was obtained was in fact being used in a "meaningful" way on a "meaningful" portion of the practice.
Thus, EMR/EHR technology must firstly be certified as performing the functions required by the government for meaningful use. Second, the physician must establish that they have used the technology on a significant population of patients. In 2011, the government will accept physicians' attestations that they have used the system on an acceptable volume of patients. After that, it is expected that the physician will need to produce audit reports establishing the level of usage.
As such, CCHIT certification prior to 2010 does not necessarily equal a stamp ensuring "meaningful use" requirements are met by the EMR/EHR vendor. If your intent in obtaining an EMR/EHR includes qualifying for government "meaningful use" incentive payments, you should be sure the technology you are purchasing has been certified against the standards set in July of 2010.
