NIST Publishes Approved Testing Procedures for Electronic Health Records
NIST Press Release for Immediate Release: August 17, 2010
“In efforts to help the nation’s health care industry make the transition to the digital age in an effective and meaningful fashion, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published a set of approved procedures for testing information technology systems that work with electronic health records (EHRs). Released in draft form earlier this year (see “NIST, Partners Develop Testing Infrastructure for Health IT Systems,” NIST Tech Beat for March 16, 2010, at http://www.nist.gov/itl/hit_031610.cfm), the approved and finalized testing procedures are now available for use.
“Under a certification program established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator (HHS/ONC), testing organizations authorized by HHS/ONC can use the tools to evaluate EHR software and systems that vendors would like to sell to doctor’s offices, hospitals and other health care providers. Starting next year, the federal government will provide extra Medicare and Medicaid payments to health care providers that implement EHR systems certified to meet ONC requirements that conform to technical standards and are put to “meaningful use,” performing specifically defined functions.
“These ONC-approved test procedures help ensure that electronic health records function properly and work interchangeably across systems developed by different vendors. The set of 45 approved test procedures evaluate components of electronic health records such as their encryption, how they plot and display growth charts, and how they control access so that only authorized users can access their information.
“The development of these tools was mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in order to support a health IT infrastructure.”
“Notice of the approved test procedures appears in the August 9, 2010, Federal Register. For more information, see http://healthcare.nist.gov/use_testing/finalized_requirements.html and http://healthit.hhs.gov/certification ”
NIST: Health IT Standards and Testing
SEE LIST OF PDFs OF TESTING REQUIREMENTS ON PAGE ON NIST SITE
List and text below excerpted from NIST site on 8/18/2010.
Approved Test Procedures
“The Approved (Pending) Test Procedures were formally approved on August 2, 2010 for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Temporary Certification Program. Notice of the approval appears in the August 9, 2010 Federal Register. The set of Test Procedures marked ‘Approved (Pending)’ have been reissued as ‘Approved’. The approval process did not result in changes to the test procedures. However technical corrections, based on feedback, are being made. Changes to a test procedure are indicated through its change log.
“The Final Rule and related information is found at http://healthit.hhs.gov.
“Questions about the applicability of the initial set of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria should be directed to ONC at ONC.Certification@hhs.gov. Questions about the test procedures should be directed to NIST at hit-tst-fdbk@nist.gov. Note that NIST will automatically forward to ONC at the address above any questions regarding the applicability of the standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria. Questions about functions and activities of the ATCBs should be directed to ONC at ONC.Certification@hhs.gov
“The following contains the approved test procedures for evaluating conformance of complete EHRs and/or EHR Modules to the initial set of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria defined in the Health Information Technology: Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria published on July 13, 2010.”
| Criteria # | Certification Criteria | Test Method | Date Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| §170.302 (a) | Drug-drug, drug-allergy interaction checks |  |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (b) | Drug formulary checks | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (c) | Maintain up-to-date problem list | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (d) | Maintain active medication list | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (e) | Maintain active medication allergy list | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (f)(1) | Vital signs | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (f)(2) | Body mass index | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (f)(3) | Plot and display growth charts | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (g) | Smoking status | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (h) | Incorporate lab results | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (i) | Generate patient lists | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (j) | Medication reconciliation | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (k) | Submission to immunization registries | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (l) | Public health surveillance | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (m) | Patient specific education resources | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (n) | Automate measure calculation | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (o) | Access control | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (p) | Emergency access | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (q) | Automatic log-off | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (r) | Audit log | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (s) | Integrity | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (t) | Authentication | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (u) | General encryption | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (v) | Encryption when exchanging electronic health information | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.302 (w) | Accounting of disclosures (optional) | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.304 (a) | Computerized provider order entry | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.304 (b) | Electronic prescribing | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.304 (c) | Record demographics | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.304 (d) | Patient reminders | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.304 (e) | Clinical decision support | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.304 (f) | Electronic copy of health information | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.304 (g) | Timely access | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.304 (h) | Clinical summaries | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.304 (i) | Exchange clinical information and patient summary record | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.304 (j) | Calculate and submit clinical quality measures | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.306 (a) | Computerized provider order entry | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.306 (b) | Record demographics | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.306 (c) | Clinical decision support | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.306 (d)(1) | Electronic copy of health information | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.306 (d)(2) | Electronic copy of health informationNote: For discharge summary | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.306 (e) | Electronic copy of discharge information | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.306 (f) | Exchange clinical information and patient summary record | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.306 (g) | Reportable lab results | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.306 (h) | Advanced directives | |
08/13/2010 |
| §170.306 (i) | Calculate and submit clinical quality measures | |
08/13/2010 |
