Certification Commission Announces Newly Certified Inpatient, Emergency Department and Enterprise EHR Products

Seeks vendors to participate in 09 pilot tests

CHICAGO – Nov 12, 2008 – The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT®) today announced the newly certified Inpatient (hospital-based) and Emergency Department electronic health record (EHR) products, as well as a special Enterprise EHR certification for vendors that provide comprehensive Ambulatory, Inpatient, and Emergency Department EHRs that are interoperable.

“The Commission has raised the bar again for 08,” said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., chair of CCHIT.  “Our Inpatient EHR standards have been updated, with new requirements including the ability to exchange medication and allergy information electronically, eliminating a major source of potential error as patients enter or leave the hospital.  New this year is our certification of Emergency Department EHRs, and certified ED systems have undergone a rigorous testing process tailored to this demanding care setting.  Finally, vendors achieving Enterprise certification have met the very highest standards, with certified products for Ambulatory, Inpatient, and Emergency Department settings that are all demonstrated to be interoperable.”

The new CCHIT Certified® 08 Inpatient EHR products are:

EpicCare Clinical Inpatient System, Version: Spring 2008, by Epic Systems Corporation.
           
CCHIT Certified 08 Emergency Department EHR products are:

ASAP Emergency Department Information System, Version: Spring 2008, by Epic Systems Corporation

EmergisoftED, Version: 5.1, by Emergisoft Corporation

Wellsoft, Version: v11, by Wellsoft Corporation

CCHIT 08 Enterprise certification has been awarded to:

EpicCare Enterprise Clinical System, Version: Spring 2008, by Epic Systems Corporation

Applications for 08 certification open

Applications are open for 08 certification of: Ambulatory EHRs with options for additional certification in Child Health and Cardiovascular Medicine; Inpatient EHRs; Emergency Department EHRs; and Enterprise EHRs. Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis through March 31, 2009. Applications are also being accepted for Health Information Exchange 09 certification through August 16th, 2009.

Pilot tests for 09 criteria

The Certification Commission is inviting EHR vendors to apply for participation in pilot tests to be held in February 2009. Applications will be accepted Dec. 1-21. The pilot tests are designed to validate new or revised criteria, test steps, and testing tools against real products and to solicit vendor comment to fine tune the inspection process. Pilot test participants will have an opportunity to test new product readiness against the proposed 09 test scripts without a fee while also providing valuable feedback that will be used to refine the criteria and testing process.  Participating vendors will be announced at the conclusion of all pilot testing for 09.

The Certification Commission is planning to conduct at least 2 pilot tests in each of the following categories:

  • Ambulatory, including child health and cardiovascular;
  • Inpatient, including cardiovascular; 
  • Emergency Department;
  • Personal Health Record (PHR); and
  • Stand Alone ePrescribing

Preference will be given to applicants that have completed the CCHIT certification process in the past; can demonstrate a domain plus an add-on certification; are familiar with the 09 criteria; and are prepared to demonstrate all test steps successfully to the extent possible in the pilot test. If there are multiple qualified applicants for a product category, the Commission will select randomly from the applicants within the category.

Interested vendors can find more information and apply online at www.cchit.org/pilot beginning on December 1st, 2008.  Applications are due by Dec. 21st, 2008, and selection will be finalized by January 16th, 2009.

About CCHIT

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT®) is an independent, nonprofit organization that has been recognized by the federal government as an official certification body for electronic health record products. Its mission is to accelerate the adoption of health information technology by creating a credible, sustainable product certification program. The certification requirements are based on widely accepted industry standards and involve the work of hundreds of expert volunteers and input from a variety of stakeholders throughout the health care industry. More information on CCHIT and CCHIT Certified® products is available at www.cchit.org.