The Certification Commission for Healthcare IT announced that it has certified 18 additional ambulatory electronic health record products for meeting specific criteria in functionality, interoperability, security and reliability, Health Data Management reports. CCHIT has certified a total of 55 ambulatory EHR products in nine months, which it estimates accounts for 25% of the market.
Some vendors already had received certification for other EHR products, while some vendors received their first certification. Also, some of the new certifications were for newer versions of existing EHRs that previously were certified.
CCHIT on Monday began its final application period for ambulatory EHR certification under 2006 criteria, and it will accept applications through Feb. 14. The commission between Feb. 14 and Feb. 28 will accept comments on final 2007 ambulatory EHR criteria and test scripts, and it expects to publish on March 16 the final version of the criteria.
The commission also is working on other EHR certification programs, including inpatient EHRs, and soon will publish a draft report of a survey and proposed plan. The commission will accept comments on the draft report between Feb. 2 and March 2, and at its March meeting, the commission plans to finalize its next steps (Health Data Management, 1/29).