WASHINGTON – Less then two months after the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology unveiled the first group of EHR products to achieve certification, the head of an upstate New York health system told his physicians they’d better look for that seal of approval from now on.
“I cannot emphasize enough the importance for physicians to understand what the consequences of implementing non-certified EHRs in their practice will mean in terms of future reimbursement and incentives to their practice,” wrote A. John Blair III, president and CEO of Taconic IPA, a 2,300 independent practice association, in his July/August newsletter.
CCHIT Chairman Mark Leavitt couldn’t be happier. “This is probably the ultimate validation of the strategy,” he said. “This is great.”
CCHIT analyzed more than two-dozen ambulatory care EMRs before announcing in July that 18 had met all the requirements to sport the CCHIT CertifiedSM seal (four more EMRs were certified within the month). Another 17 vendors applied during the August enrollment session for certification - twice as many, Leavitt says, as they had expected.
“We’re pretty much hearing positive things now,” he said of the process.
Some had complained during the certification process that the $28,000 price tag would hurt small vendors, but Leavitt says the mix of companies seeking certification in August is one-third small, one-third medium and one-third large. Smaller vendors, he points out, can gain stature with certification, a validation that “you’re with the big boys now.”
David Winn, founder, president and CEO of e-MDs, whose Solution Series 6.1 was certified, says they’ve made one business deal so far that was contingent on certification, and he expects other potential clients will base their decisions on that factor.
A member of the commission, Winn says it’ll cost his company about $250,000 per year to stay certified. Those costs, he said, will likely force smaller vendors out of the market – something he believes the commission had in mind when it created the certification process – but make it easier for vendors and buyers to “be on the same page.”
Winn says he is worried about what he calls “bloatware,” or extra features added to the package to meet the requests of a divergent group of participants. Some of that was evident, he said, in creating the certification process, which involved input from a wide variety of companies and advisers.
“Let the market determine the features that are desirable,” he suggested.
Lynne A. Dunbrack, program director of payer research for Health Industry Insights, says the process is a good first step for vendors, who can measure their products against a set of standards designed by CCHIT, and payers, who will know what they’re buying. But just as one family might need a minivan while another might do better with a sedan, not all payers have a need for the same products.
“It takes one element of the risk out … but physicians still have to see what works for them,” she said. “Just because that application works doesn’t mean it’s going to work in your practice. This is not a one-size-fits-all process.”
Paul Edge, director of product management for Misys Healthcare Systems, whose Misys EMR 8.0 received certification, says prospective customers have taken notice. He says the seal of approval is necessary for Misys to stay abreast of the industry, but not sufficient to attract new business.
“Certification is just one piece of the puzzle,” he says.
Certification is good for three years, but Leavitt says vendors can come back at any time for recertification, an attractive but costly option considering the ever-changing EHR climate. What a vendor has to decide, he says, is whether it’s financially feasible to seek recertification in one or two years or spread the process out over three years.
The commission plans announce the next group of certified products in November. It is scheduled to begin certifying inpatient EHR products next year and networking components in 2008.
