The Office for the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has announced a media briefing for June 18 on the final rule for a temporary certification program for electronic health record technology.
The final rule will be published in the Federal Register today.
HHS adopted an initial set of certification criteria to support the achievement by eligible professionals and eligible hospitals of meaningful use Stage 1. The criteria were outlined in the Interim Final Rule.
The temporary certification program for electronic health records and EHR modules is to serve as "a bridge to the second, permanent certification proposal, which establishes detailed guidelines to support an ongoing program of testing and certification of health IT," according to ONC chief David Blumenthal, MD.
The meaningful use of certified EHR technology is a requirement for qualifying for incentive payments under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentives program.
"The temporary program therefore is critical as it assures the availability of certified EHR technology prior to the date on which healthcare providers may begin demonstrating meaningful use," Blumenthal wrote in his blog last March.
The 30-day comment period on the temporary certification ended April 9, while the 60-day comment period for the permanent certification proposal ended May 10.
Organizations that apply for a temporary certification will be required to demonstrate through documentation that they are qualified to test and certify EHRs for part or all of the meaningful use requirements, according to ONC.
Permanent certification will take longer and require more rigorous qualifications for both testing and certification of EHRs.
Return to Healthcare IT News later today for the details of the 1:30 p.m. (ET) news conference.
