In early 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law by the Congress. As part the $787B Stimulus law, the package includes a $19.2 Billion investment in Healthcare IT to increase the adoption and use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) by physicians and hospitals. This portion of the bill is widely known as the HITECH Act (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act). The funds are distributed to eligible hospitals and providers via existing Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement systems. The incentives are available to healthcare providers that use “certified” EHR systems in a “meaningful way”.

The Department of Health and Human Services created the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) as mandated by the HITECH Act. The ONC has produced a Final Rule regarding Health Information Technology certification standards for EHR software solutions, and criteria defining meaningful use of such certified EHR technologies by healthcare providers. A number of Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ATCBs) have been appointed to test and certify EHR Solutions. Many EHR vendors have been aggressively seeking certification of their systems. Hospitals are increasingly discovering that their systems may include ONC-certified, not-yet-certified, and “home-grown” elements. For these Hospitals, self-certification may be the only path to meaningful use funds, and may be less expensive and timelier than implementing ONC-Certified solutions. Self-certification allows the Hospital or Provider Group to obtain certification for their unique blend of systems.

We work closely with EHR software vendors, Hospital Systems, and Provider Groups to analyze existing ARRA HITECH certification efforts reference the Final Rule. Since we have been involved with a number of clients seeking and/or successfully obtaining certification with CCHIT, the Drummond Group, and InfoGard, we are in a unique position to provide real experience on testing methodologies and procedures.

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