CHICAGO – The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology plans to expand its certification activities, Chairman Mark Leavitt announced Thursday.

Leavitt said the panel would, at the same time, remain flexible and responsive as the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act emerges.

"I believe this is the most important turning point in the history of health IT, and of our organization as well," he said. "With about $20 billion in funding and incentives for EHRs, health information exchange (HIE) and associated technologies - based on certification as a key qualification - we must be very flexible and responsive as federal health IT initiatives emerge and grow."
 
The nine new programs for launch in 2010 and beyond will extend certification to new specialties, settings and populations, while also opening the door to labeling that recognizes advanced capabilities in electronic health records as users become ready to adopt them, Leavitt said.
 
The board of commissioners voted to begin development of four programs - clinical research, dermatology, advanced interoperability and advanced quality - for launch in 2010. These are in addition to two areas previously scheduled for a 2010 launch - behavioral health and long-term care.

Four other certification programs were identified for launch in 2011: eye care, oncology, advanced security and advanced clinical decision support.

Development of obstetrics/gynecology certification was placed on a schedule for possible launch in 2012.

The final expansion roadmap and public comments are available. Volunteer work group recruitment for new and existing certification programs will begin on March 23 through April 20.
 

Public comment on e-prescribing security

A period for public comment continues through March 4 on security criteria and test scripts proposed for CCHIT's certification program covering stand-alone e-prescribing systems. The program, which has been in development since November 2008, is on an accelerated track separate from other certification development cycles as a result of legislation that provides Medicare bonus payments to clinicians using a qualified e-prescribing system with certain advanced features. The e-prescribing provisions were part of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.
 

HIE Certification Program

Two public comment periods begin Feb. 23 for elements of the HIE certification program, which is being introduced in phases during 2009. The public can comment on final test scripts for two transactions, a lab report document and a patient summary, through March 6. These are for the third phase of HIE certification, which began October 2008 by testing security and added in January the ability to receive and send a lab result. In addition, public comment will be taken through March 24 on a set of roadmap criteria for HIE certification in 2010 and beyond.