E-Health Panel: Expand Certification Regime
August 17, 2009
NextGov's Bob Brewin reports that:
The top federal panel that sets policies for electronic health records so that a national system can be adopted made recommendations on Friday that would allow multiple organizations to certify electronic record products instead of the one certifying body that exists today. Doctors and hospitals are slated to receive up to $17 billion in stimulus funds to help pay for health information technology systems. But the payments are dependent on doctors using systems that meet "meaningful use" criteria, standards the Health Information Technology Policy Committee is developing.The stimulus package, included in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, required the committee to recommend a policy framework for the development and adoption of a nationwide health information infrastructure -- including standards for the exchange of patient medical information and certifications criteria -- to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the Health and Human Services Department. Currently, only the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) certifies electronic health records systems.
Read his full post here.
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