CCHIT plus Multiple EHR Certifying Entities Proposed 
As reported by Joseph Goedert of HealthData Management  on July 16, 2009, “The workgroup recommends that multiple organizations be allowed to perform ‘HHS Certification’ testing and provide certification. HHS Certification means a certifying process that is limited to the minimum set of criteria necessary to meet functional requirements of ARRA and achieve the law’s meaningful use objectives.”

Five Recommendations of Certification/Adoption Workgroup plus 2 key points related to Meaningful Use and 5 to short-term transition   Full slide set (ppt)
1. Focus Certification on Meaningful Use
             – The National Coordinator should determine the criteria for HHS Certification, which should be limited to the minimum set of criteria that are necessary to: (a) meet the functional requirements of the statute, and  (b) achieve the Meaningful Use Objectives.
              – The focus on Meaningful Use should reduce the barriers currently faced by vendors that focus on specialists.

2. Leverage Certification process to improve progress on Security, Privacy, and Interoperability

3. Improve objectivity and transparency of the certification process

4. Expand Certification to include a range of software sources: Open source, self-developed, etc.

5. Develop a Short-Term Transition plan
      — ONC should define missing criteria to address Meaningful Use objectives, e.g., public health.
      — ONC should revise the existing criteria to meet Meaningful Use objectives, e.g., e-prescribing.
      — Subject to completing a special MU Gap Certification, existing certified products should be deemed certified for 2011.
      — New products, not currently certified, should be certified against the revised criteria and gaps.
      — Until the new HHS Certification process is established, with ONC approval, CCHIT should continue to perform certifications against ONC defined criteria.

Slides:  Certification/Adoption Workgroup Recommendations (ppt)