Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) was an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology. The Commission certified electronic health record technology from 2006 until 2014. It was approved by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB). The CCHIT Certified program is an independently developed certification that includes a rigorous inspection of an EHR's integrated functionality, interoperability and security using criteria developed by CCHIT's broadly representative, expert work groups. These products may also be certified in the ONC-ATCB certification program.

History

CCHIT was founded in 2004 with support from three leading industry associations in healthcare information management and technology: the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the National Alliance for Health Information Technology (the Alliance). In September 2005, CCHIT was awarded a 3-year contract by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and evaluate the certification criteria and inspection process for EHRs and the networks through which they interoperate. In October 2006, HHS officially designated CCHIT as a Recognized Certification Body (RCB).[1] In July 2010, HHS published new rules for recognizing testing and certification bodies, scheduled to take effect when it named the new bodies. In September 2010, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) of HHS named CCHIT again under these new rules. CCHIT is an ONC Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB).

Goals

Operations

CCHIT focused its first efforts on ambulatory EHR products[2] for the office-based physician and provider and began commercial certification in May 2006.

CCHIT then developed a process of certification for inpatient EHR products[3] and launched that program in 2007.

CCHIT then assessed the need for, and potential benefit of, certifying EHR for specialty medicine, special care settings, and special-needs populations.[4][5]

CCHIT, in a collaboration with the MITRE Corporation, also developed an open-source program called Laika to test EHR software for compliance with federally named interoperability standards.

In January 2014, Information Week reported that CCHIT would exit the EHR certification business.[6]

On November 14, 2014, CCHIT ceased all operations.[7]

Announcements of CCHIT Certified Products
  • On July 18, 2006, CCHIT released its first list of 20 certified ambulatory EMR and EHR products [8]
  • On July 31, 2006, CCHIT announced that two additional EHR products had achieved certification.[9]
  • On October 23, 2006, CCHIT released its second list of 11 certified vendors.[10]
  • On April 30, 2007, CCHIT released its third list of 18 certified vendors.[11]
  • On November 16, 2009, CCHIT released its initial draft criteria for Behavioral Health, Clinical Research, and Dermatology EHRs, with expected final publication available July 2010.

Commissioners

The Commission, chaired by Karen Bell, M.D., M.M.S, was composed of 21 members each serving two-year terms.

Stakeholders

Certified EHR products benefit many interested groups and individuals:

CCHIT and its volunteer work groups strove to fairly represent the interests of each of these diverse groups in an open forum, communicating the progress of its work and seeking input from all quarters. CCHIT received the endorsements of a number of professional medical organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the Physicians' Foundation for Health Systems Excellence and Physicians' Foundation for Health Systems Innovation.

See also

Notes
  1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (October 26, 2006): HHS Officially Recognizes Certification Body to Evaluate Electronic Health Records Archived January 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Public postings of CCHIT work products for the ambulatory domain Archived May 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Public postings of CCHIT work products for the inpatient domain Archived January 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. CCHIT to Expand Electronic Health Record Certification to Some Specialties Archived December 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine (November 28, 2006)
  5. CCHIT: Certifying EHR for Specialty Medicine and Special Care Settings
  6. "CCHIT Exits EHR Certification Business - InformationWeek". InformationWeek. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2010-11-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Retrieved January 24, 2015
  8. Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (July 18, 2006): CCHIT Announces First Certified Electronic Health Record Products Archived January 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved July 26, 2006
  9. Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (July 31, 2006):CCHIT Announces Additional Certified Electronic Health Record Products Archived June 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved July 31, 2006
  10. CCHIT Announces New Certified Electronic Health Record Products (October 23, 2006): CCHIT Announces New Certified Electronic Health Record Products Archived February 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  11. CCHIT Announces New Certified Electronic Health Record Products (April 30, 2007): CCHIT Announces New Certified Electronic Health Record Products Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
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