Drummond Group publishes 'decision guide' for 2014 Edition testing

Drummond Group has published a guide for electronic health records developers that seeks to bridge the knowledge gap between the 2014 and 2011 criteria put forth by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC).

Officials from Drummond, which was recently approved to test and certify 2014 Edition criteria by ONC, say the new guide is meant to help reduce the complexity of the decision-making process to meet Stage 2 meaningful use requirements – and ideally make for more expedient compliance with the 2014 Edition criteria for vendors and improved readiness for their provider customers.

The Decision Guide to 2014 Edition includes three components:


• A framework document that helps developers focus on the specific 2014 criteria, clinical quality measures (CQMs) and testing options that will best support customers.
• An optional wave testing approach that helps vendors incrementally test for various certification criteria in phases, rather than all at once. This approach helps bridge the marketing gap between testing and certification that enhances opportunities for early adopters by offering as many as three certification points, say Drummond officials.
• A pre-test assessment tool to gauge testing readiness. This tool bridges the uncertainty gap between development and testing by helping the clients determine their preparedness, which can lead to more successful test results, officials say.

“The complexity involved with testing and certifying for the ONC criteria with the different meaningful use choices is so large that it could easily overwhelm and discourage many vendors," says Kyle Meadors, Drummond Group’s director of EHR testing. "As a software certification body, we can’t make the requirements less demanding, but we can offer informative tools that make it possible for vendors to quickly gain much-needed insight into their certification needs and testing readiness."


Delivered as a “self-help” tool, the Decision Guide to 2014 Edition helps vendors to assess their software development status – as well as their customers’ needs – to make the best choices for 2014 Edition criteria selection, according to Drummond Group. The document specifically walks software developers through an EHR category decision tree that helps to determine if they should classify their solution as a complete EHR, or a variety of EHR modular options and describes the testing details.


While the framework document helps vendors zero in on important criteria, the pre-test assessment tool, along with access to the experienced Drummond Group test proctors, will allow vendors to gauge their product testing readiness, say Drummond officials.

Once vendors understand where their product stands with respect to the testing requirements, they can consider the optional wave testing approach that enables better test management by seeking certification for certain requirements in phases. As such, vendors can demonstrate compliance while still working toward comprehensive certification.