The HITECH act designated that in order to get the $40k+ of EHR stimulus money you have to implement a certified EHR. However, the HITECH act lets HHS decide which EHR certification criteria to use. All CCHIT vendors are hoping it will be the CCHIT certification. Many people don’t want it to be the CCHIT certification. I decided to see what readers of EMR and HIPAA think about CCHIT certification as the criteria. So, vote for which EHR certification criteria should be selected by HHS as the certification necessary for receiving EHR stimulus funds.
I agree CCHIT is not the best answer but I wonder if the govt will be able to come up with a new set of certification criteria by the deadline dec 31, 2009
James,
Interesting question. Probably an even better question is whether the government can come up with a better criteria than CCHIT. Now that’s just a little bit scary to think about.
Whatever the standards chosen, they need to measure not just features, but how easily each EMR or EHR can be implemented in a practice setting; i.e. can it be adapted to fit different workflows, and whether the provided training is robust enough. A long list of features is no good if the physician is just going to shelve the EMR because implementation is too difficult. These kind of practical criteria will level the playing field for smaller, innovative EMR vendors and ensure a wider choice of better, certified products for physicians.
Hi Cassie,
Glad to have Nuesoft on my blog. I visited with a few of you way back when you were originally together with Medicat.
I agree that the criteria needs to be changed and that people need to be informed about what CCHIT certification really means. Most doctors are assuming way too much about what a certification like CCHIT really means to them.
The realization is that CCHIT is only EHR/EMR certification body designated by HHS and ONCHIT a the moment. Input of standardization will come from external sources and influence ARRAl; however, certification will use CCHIT as its platform.
BT,
Most signs have pointed that way, but Blumenthal I think is going to battle against CCHIT. We’ll see if he wins since it’s like David and Goliath. However, as this poll shows, more and more people favor an alternative EHR certification to CCHIT.
[…] in February I posted a poll asking the question “Which EHR certification criteria should HHS use for the HITECH Act?” Of course, at the core of the question is whether HHS, ONC, David Blumenthal and co. should […]