The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT), the private-sector cooperative set up to ensure new health IT products work together, announced last week it is ready to start certifying inpatient – or hospital-based – electronic health record (EHR) products.
CCHIT said it will begin taking applications Aug. 1 for the first batch of products to be tested. The application window for the first quarterly group will be open until Aug. 14. Products that pass the certification review will be announced in late October.
CCHIT’s final criteria for inpatient systems, test scripts and policy documents, are available on its Web site.
The commission has spent most of the past year certifying products associated with outpatient or ambulatory care EHRs. Inpatient systems, which involve intricate, split-second handoffs, are considered more complex.
“Thanks to a year of intensive work by our volunteer workgroups and supporting staff, we are now ready to bring the benefits of certification to the inpatient domain,” said CCHIT Executive Director Alisa Ray in a statement.
Ray also described the types of inpatient products the commission will test. “Besides covering foundation standards such as security, the inspection of inpatient EHR products will examine clinician electronic order writing, electronic medication administration, related clinical decision support and medication reconciliation,” she said.
Ray said previously that CCHIT will focus on testing networks and interoperability in 2008.
The commission will hold a teleconference for inpatient system vendors July 12 at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time to discuss the inpatient certification program and application process.
Meanwhile, CCHIT said it is looking for six candidates to serve on its Board of Commissioners for two-year terms beginning in October. CCHIT will take applications until July 31. The commission wants one candidate from each of the following areas of expertise: health information exchanges, informatics experts, public health agencies, safety-net providers and ambulatory care providers.
The 21-member board oversees the work of the CCHIT volunteers who help develop the certification criteria.
Government Health IT presents Liesa Jo Jenkins, executive director of CareSpark, in this recent eSeminar, where she shared her experiences and insight into building a health information exchange that enhances community health, rewards regional collaboration and drives economic progress.
