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CCHIT Certified® 2011

The CCHIT Certified® 2011 certification program includes a rigorous inspection of integrated EHR functionality, interoperability, and security according to criteria independently developed by the CCHIT's broadly representative, expert work groups using CCHIT's  published testing methods. This program tests products separately from the HHS certification  program.  

The CCHIT Certified 2011 program includes “core” plus “optional” certifications. Companies bringing an Ambulatory EHR for a core certification may choose to qualify for optional, add-on certifications for specialty care or special patient populations.  Companies who have products certified in three domains—Ambulatory, Inpatient, and Emergency Department—qualify for the additional option of Enterprise certification that demonstrates interoperability  between those settings.  Certification is also available for ePrescribing and EHRs used in Behavioral Health and Long Term and Post Acute Care. 

To increase buyer assurance, all fully certified products in the CCHIT Certified 2011 program undergo  additional testing:  key aspects of successful use are verified at live sites, and, for Ambulatory EHR products, usability is rated.  Only Conditional certification is issued until live site verification is complete and, for Ambulatory EHRs, all electronic prescribing certifications are in place, and for Long Term and Post Acute Care, patient summary exchange is available.

HHS Certified Stage 1  

CCHIT® has been recognized by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) for the purposes of certifying  that EHRs are capable of meeting the criteria to support meaningful use and qualify  eligible providers and hospitals for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  CCHIT is authorized to offer HHS certification for complete EHRs that meet all of the Stage 1 criteria, as well as certification for modular EHR products that meet one or more – but not all – of the criteria.

CCHIT will launch its HHS certification program on September 20, 2010. The  ONC certification criteria and standards used in that program are available at http://healthIT.hhs.gov. Test procedures and tools are available at http://healthcare.nist.gov/use_testing.

The HHS certification program is simpler and more flexible, although it does not provide as much buyer assurance as the CCHIT Certified 2011 program.  In this program, technology is only inspected to meet the ONC certification criteria and standards.  When applying, a developer selects the modular criteria against which they wish to to be inspected.  

Many products will be certified in both programs.