Electronic Health Record (EHR) Certification Program
The Office of Interoperability and Standards within the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) oversees certification
programs for health information technology. This critical aspect of the national health IT agenda will provide assurance to purchasers
and other users that an EHR system, or other relevant technology, offers the necessary technological capability, functionality and
security to help them meet the meaningful use criteria established for a given phase.
Providers and patients must also be confident that the electronic health IT products and systems they use are secure, can maintain
data confidentially, and can work with other systems to share information. Confidence in health IT systems is an important part of
advancing health IT system adoption and allowing for the realization of the benefits of improved patient care. Eligible providers who
seek to qualify for incentive payments under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs are required by statute to use
Certified EHR Technology. Once certified, Complete EHRs and EHR Modules used together would be able to be used to meet the
statutory requirement for Certified EHR Technology.
In 2010, ONC established a Temporary Certification Program in order to ensure the availability and functionality of certified
EHR technology to support the first stage of the EHR incentive programs authorized by the HITECH Act. In January 2011, ONC
issued the final rule for the Permanent Certification Program. The Temporary Certification Program will continue to be in effect
until it sunsets on December 31, 2011, or at a later date when the processes necessary for the Permanent Certification
Program to operate are completed.
ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies
(ONC-ATCBs)
To date, ONC has authorized six organizations to perform the actual testing
and certification of EHR and EHR modules. These ONC- ATCBs underwent
an open and rigorous application and proficiency testing to demonstrate
that they had the necessary capabilities, competencies and capacity to test
and certify EHR products at their facility as well as remotely.
Looking Ahead
The Permanent Certification Program (PCP) Final Rule published January
includes several aspects different from the Temporary Certification Program (TCP):
• Single ONC-Approved Accreditor (ONC-AA).
• All certification bodies must apply to ONC for ONC-Authorized Certification
Body (ONC-ACB) status.
– ONC-ATCBs authorized under the TCP will not automatically become ONC-ACBs;
they must be accredited by the ONC-AA to be eligible for ONC-ACB status.
• Separate organizations will have the opportunity to conduct testing or
certification activities, or both.
• When new and/or revised certification criteria are adopted, gap certification will be available.
• The PCP is expected to be operational in January 2012 when the TCP sunsets.
• The National Coordinator has requested that NIST-NVLAP develop a laboratory accreditation program.
ONC-Authorized Testing & Certification Bodies
Certification Commission
for Health IT
The Drummond Group, Inc.
InfoGard Laboratories, Inc.
SLI Global Solutions
Surescripts LLC
ICSA Labs
EHR Certification Program
Spotlight: Certified HIT Products List (CHPL)
An advanced “2.0” version of the CHPL is now available on the ONC website. New features include:
• “Cart” product selection capabilities. Add product(s) to your cart to determine if together your selection(s) meet 100% of the
required meaningful use criteria
• Advanced search, filter and sorting
• Product-to-clinical quality measure mapping
• Automated data reporting and ONC approval for ATCBs
• Request a CMS EHR Certification ID for Meaningful Use in real-time
Certified Health IT Products List (CHPL)
CHPL provides the sole authoritative, comprehensive listing of Complete EHRs and EHR Modules that have been tested and
certified under the Temporary Certification Program maintained by ONC. Each Complete EHR and EHR Module listed has been
certified by an ONC-ATCB and reported to ONC. Only the product versions that are included on the CHPL are certified under the
ONC Temporary Certification Program. Using this tool, providers can also request a CMS EHR Certification ID for CMS
registration or attestation in the incentives program.
The health information technology for Economic and Clinical
Health (HITECH) Act defines a timetable as well as expectations
for how hospitals must demonstrate the meaningful use of
certified Health Information Technology. The ONC Certification
Program has been established to operationalize the certification
of health IT for Meaningful Use. As a result, the Certification
Program has stimulated the health IT market by creating a
certification marketplace which has lowered costs and increased
competition for the certification of health IT. ONC is pleased to be
able to provide opportunities for small businesses to participate
in the Certification Program. All ONC-ATCBs are classified as
small businesses by the Small Business Administration.
CHPL Highlights
27% Inpatient
73% Ambulatory
Products
37% Modular
63% Complete
EHR Products
14% Large (>200 emp)
21% Mid-size
65% Small Vendors
(1-50 employees)
For more information about the CHPL, or to review the complete listing
of certified products, please visit http://healthit.hhs.gov/chpl.
For more information about the EHR certification program, please visit:
• ONC website: http://healthit.gov
• CMS Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs website:
http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms
• Temporary Certification Program: http://healthit.gov
• Standards & Certification Criteria:
http://healthit.hhs.gov/standardsandcertification
By the Numbers (2/11/11)
6
Operational ONC-ATCBs
243+
EHR vendors on the CHPL
65%
% of “small business” vendors
offering certified EHR products
370+
Certified products listed
on the CHPL
ONC Office of Interoperability and Standards
330 C St, SW, 1st Floor, Washington, D.C. 20201
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave. SW, Suite 729-D, Washington, D.C. 20201
Website
http://healthit.gov
