WASHINGTON – Though many fear the timetable is cutting things too close, federal officials and industry insiders paint a picture of everything coming together in time for providers to have their electronic health record products certified to meet the meaningful use requirements by Oct. 1, when data collection is first allowed.
Sixteen organizations are in various stages of application, David Blumenthal, MD, national coordinator for health information technology said at a Health IT Policy Committee meeting on July 21.
Steven Posnack, ONC’s director of the federal policy division, said it would be great if all of them were qualified. “That would be an outstanding result,” he said. “Probably, more realistically, some subset of those will be first authorized.”
The Austin, Texas-based Drummond Group, an interoperability testing company, affirmed they were in the process of applying, as was CCHIT, which planned to have its 500-600-page application in “very soon.” The names of other companies in the process of applying have not been disclosed.
Since 2004, the nonprofit Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has been the sole federally recognized certification body for electronic health records. By mid-2009, CCHIT had certified some 200 electronic health record products, representing 75 percent of the marketplace.
Things changed with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009. Congress mandated certification bodies, with ATCBs – Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies – set up to take care of the job until a final rule is published and permanent certification bodies come into play.
On June 23, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued the final rule on the ATCB program, and according to ONC officials, 30 organizations have requested applications.
Under the rule, the ONC has 30 days to approve an ATCB application once it is turned in.
Despite its experience, CCHIT must apply as any other organization. “It’s a lot of work,” said Alisa Ray, CCHIT executive director.
“It’s a barrier to anyone who’s not serious about doing this,” said Alisa Ray, executive director of CCHIT.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has been charged by Congress to set up the testing procedures that approved ATCBs must use to certify electronic health records for meaningful use.
NIST’s Lisa Carnahan, who is responsible for the project, said NIST would publish the testing objectives online. NIST worked with ONC to be prepared in advance to have the testing objectives ready as soon as possible following the release of the meaningful use final rule, she said.
