Electronic Health Records

ONC to Start Accepting Bids for Entities to Certify EHR Products

June 21, 2010

iHealthBeat - Beginning July 1, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT will accept and process applications from not-for-profit entities seeking designation as ONC-authorized testers and certifiers of electronic health record technology, Government Health IT reports.

On June 18, ONC released a final rule on a temporary program designed to help ONC approve organizations to test and certify electronic health records under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package.

Under the stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate "meaningful use" of certified EHRs will qualify for federal incentive payments.

The final rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, triggering the official launch of the temporary certification program.

The program is set to end on Dec. 31, 2011, when a permanent and more comprehensive certification program will take its place.

Carol Bean, ONC division director of certification and testing, said authorized organizations are expected to begin testing and certifying EHRs by late summer. By fall, certified EHR products would be available on the market, she said.

Bean added that ONC would announce the authorized organizations on its website.

The Certification Commission for Health IT, an existing EHR certifying organization, in a statement said it will be among the applicants for the new program. CCHIT officials said the organization is prepared to demonstrate its qualifications and experience.

Health & Human Services Tailors EHRs for Children

Electronic health records should help children and victims of domestic violence, HHS panel says

June 4, 2010

FCW - Electronic health record (EHR) systems should be enhanced to deal with the needs of people such as children and victims of domestic violence, officials said today at a meeting of a Health and Human Services Department advisory workgroup.

For pediatrics patients, HHS is developing a model EHR with features tailored for their health needs, speakers said. For example, a pediatric record system is likely to have growth charts and vaccination charts.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) along with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are creating the pediatric record template for children enrolled in Medicaid or in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Dr. Carolyn Clancy, AHRQ's director, said at a meeting of the HHS Health IT Policy Committee’s meaningful use workgroup.

The workgroup is advising the HHS National Coordinator for Health IT on distributing $17 billion in economic stimulus funds to providers who buy and "meaningfully use" EHR systems.

Although studies have shown that about 21 percent of pediatricians use digital health record systems, only six percent of those doctors said the systems included all the core functionalities that doctors believe necessary, Clancy said ...