ONC publishes certification rule, triggers comment period
Certification Programs Proposed: ONC description/links
Diana Manos of Healthcare IT, reported on March 11, 2010 “ONC policy analyst Steven Posnack said the 184-page certification proposal (published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2010) will allow organizations to apply for temporary or permanent authorization to become certification bodies. The ONC is proposing the temporary certification to speed things up because of the looming deadline, he said.”

April 9 Deadline for comments on Temporary Certification
May 10 Deadline for comments on Permanent Certification

Certification Programs NPRM
Excerpts from ONC site on March 11, 2010:
“Certification of Health IT 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 professionals and eligible hospitals 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 would be able to be used by eligible professionals and eligible hospitals, or be combined, to meet the statutory requirement for Certified EHR Technology.  

“To this end, an NPRM proposing the establishment of certification programs for purposes of testing and certifying health information technology was issued in March 2010 with a request for comments. The NPRM proposes:

• A temporary certification program to assure the availability of Certified EHR Technology prior to the date on which health care providers seeking the incentive payments would begin to report demonstrable meaningful use of Certified EHR Technology. 
   
• A permanent certification program to replace the temporary certification program. ”

Learn more about the NPRM

–Certification NPRM | [PDF - 463 KB]  (Federal Register, March 10, 2010)
–Submit a comment on the certification NPRM
–Facts-at-a-Glance
–Frequently Asked Questions
–ONC HIMSS Town Hall (3/2/2010) Slides [PDF - 1.31 MB]

Additional Information
“In collaboration with ONC, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing the functional and conformance testing requirements, test cases, and test tools to support the proposed Health IT Certification Programs. These conformance test methods (test procedures, test data, and test tools) will help ensure compliance with the meaningful use technical requirements and standards.”

http://xw2k.nist.gov/healthcare/use_testing/index.html
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For e-Healthcare Marketing selections from NIST Health IT Standards and Testing site.