Have you ever heard of the CCHIT? It’s probably something we should all be familiar with. CCHIT is a private, not-for-profit organization formed to certify Electronic Health Records (EHRs) against a minimum set of requirements or standards. According to a recent article by Don Fornes of Software Advice, a website that reviews electronic medical records (http://www.softwareadvice.com/medical/electronic-medical-record-software-comparison/) : “While most healthcare participants agree that moving medical records to an electronic format is important, there is little consensus on what should constitute an EHR and how those systems should securely share data.” That’s where the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology comes in.
According to the article, as of March 2009, approximately eighty ambulatory EHRs have received certification against 2006 standards, while another sixteen have received certification against tougher 2007 standards. Meanwhile, twenty organizations have achieved certification for meeting the 2008 EHR criteria. “We estimate this equates to roughly 30% of all ambulatory EHRs being certified, while additional EHR vendors are currently pursuing certification for their systems.” (Source: www.softwareadvice.com, Don Fornes, 2009) So there is still a long way to go.
I found the article at www.softwareadvice.com to be extremely helpful. Click here to go directly to the article. The piece is titled “Should CCHIT Influence Your EHR Selection?” The new Stimulus Bill provides for EMR (electronic medical records) subsidies, but to be eligible, healthcare providers have to demonstrate use of a “qualified EMR” in a “meaningful manner.” This is bound to make CCHIT certification a bigger issue as we move forward. And certification is not cheap. The initial review costs $29,000 with an annual maintenance fee of $6,000. However, according to what I’ve read, the real cost is in developing the features needed to meet the CCHIT criteria (product capabilities). This could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The article goes on to question whether CCHIT has set the bar too high for most ambulatory care organizations. “We can’t help but wonder how long it will take for the traditionally ‘late adopter’ physician market to accept and implement the requirements specified by CCHIT’s technologically savvy Commission.”
If you’re interested in EMRs and the certification requirements, this article is a heck of a place to start. My learning curve is pretty steep, so I found it to be extremely helpful. If you’d like more information on Software Advice’s electronic medical record comparison, go to http://www.softwareadvice.com/medical/electronic-medical-record-software-comparison/.
Post by Dan Dunlop, The Healthcare Marketer
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