Certification of electronic health record products is the first step toward achieving meaningful use. But what if you are a healthcare system operating under legacy software, customized commercial products or homegrown EHR systems that would cost hundreds of millions to replace with a new product already certified by the vendor? Some healthcare organizations, particularly teaching hospitals, have discovered that certifying their own system through a special CCHIT program is the best alternative.
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) announced last week that five new organizations joined Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in certifying complete or modular EHRs under its EHR Alternative Certification for Healthcare Providers, or EACH, an ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification program for already-installed EHR technology. They are: Health Management Associates, New York University Langone Medical Center, Northwestern University, Tenet Healthsystem Medical and the University of North Carolina Health Care.
“There are many myths about what is required to achieve certification and meaningful use,” said John Halamka, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess’s chief information officer. "The major challenge is not technology; it’s education. Partner as soon as you can with an authorized testing and certification body and get educated about the requirements because you will find it’s quite doable,” he said.
