As of Oct. 12, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has verified 40 products, which have been certified by two Approved Testing and Certification Bodies (ATCB) for use under the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record incentive program.
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has tested and certified 36, along with the Drummond Group, which has 4 products certified.
One other organization approved by ONC as an ATCB – InfoGard Laboratories, based in San Luis Obispo, Calif. – says it expects to announce certified products soon.
ONC is accepting applications on a rolling basis from organizations that wish to become ATCBs. ONC officials said they expect more organizations to be approved as ATCBs in the future.
CCHIT, based in Chicago, announced its first 33 certified products on Oct. 1, including 19 complete EHRs, which meet all of the 2011/2012 criteria for either eligible provider or hospital technology, and 14 EHR Modules, which meet one or more – but not all – of the criteria. CCHIT's director Karen Bell said she expects the roll out of certified products to continue.
"This is a testament to the Commission's long history in certifying EHRs and the skills and experience of our trained team who test the products we certify," Bell said. "We have ramped up our testing capacity to accommodate the demand for ONC-ATCB certification."
Drummond Group became an ATCB in late August and began testing September 20, announcing certified products shortly thereafter. Rik Drummond, CEO of Drummond Group said the Austin, Texas-based company has been testing and independently certifying software products for over ten years in other industries.
According to the Temporary Certification Program for Health Information Technology rule, EHR developers must provide ONC with information on the details of their ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certified products.
On Oct. 5, ONC launched its online Certified Health IT Product List, known as CHPL (pronounced chapel). Products on the list have been certified by an ATCB and have been verified by ONC. Federal officials advise providers to check the CHPL website on a regular basis for additional products as they are announced. The CHPL website is located at http://onc-chpl.force.com/ehrcert.
