The comment period for phase one of the proposed certification rule closed on Friday, with groups calling for the feds to take precautions not to hinder the current ongoing healthcare IT adoption process.
In its comments, the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) suggested the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) support the ongoing certification work of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT).
MGMA also called for ONC to accept EHR software certified by CCHIT in 2008 or later as meeting the requirements for stage 1, or the temporary certification, of the EHR incentive program for bonuses under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
MGMA also recommended that ONC:
- permit virtual testing of EHR software by certification entities;
- offer eligible professionals a grace period of at least one year if their EHR software becomes "decertified;" and
- develop a certification process that facilitates appropriate EHR software selection by physicians.
MGMA representatives said they would continue to advocate on Capitol Hill for simplified EHR incentive program requirements, logistics and software certification processes.
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) submitted comments April 7 supporting "the general concept" of moving to a two-stage approach for creating a certification process for electronic health records.
CHIME warned, however, that significant questions still surround the creation of the approach, even though it offers a way to deal with the near-term need of accelerating the certification of EHR products.
"The introduction of two separate certification schemes – one temporary and one permanent – carries a risk of continuing the uncertainty and promoting needless product replacement in the marketplace," CHIME's comment letter read.
ONC will close the comment period on the permanent certification program on May 10.
