On Friday, the Certification Commission for Healthcare IT published on its Web site its 2009 criteria and test scripts, as well as a new "Concise Guide to CCHIT Criteria," Healthcare IT News reports.
The guide connects the criteria to qualifications for electronic health record systems under the economic stimulus package and identifies the 2009 criteria changes. CCHIT also said it plans to shift its certification timelines to align with the stimulus law.
The criteria relate to office-based, hospital-based, enterprise and emergency department EHRs. They also include specifications for stand-alone electronic prescribing systems and add-on EHR features for pediatrics and cardiology.
Mark Leavitt, CCHIT chair, said the commission has submitted its criteria to the Health IT Standards Committee for review and expects to receive feedback by Aug. 26. Meanwhile, CCHIT "will be very busy updating our policies and testing new ideas with the goal of offering an array of certification programs to support more rapid, widespread adoption and meaningful use of EHR technologies," he said (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 6/1).
Last week, Leavitt in an interview said CCHIT will wait to accept EHR vendor applications until after HHS approves testing criteria under a process outlined in the federal stimulus package (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 6/1).