The ONC has come out of the gates running already this year. Here is their first check up of the new year.
Just before the holiday break, the sixth ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ATCB) was named. Surescripts is located in Arlington, VA and operates a national e-Prescribing network. They are authorized to certify EHR Modules covering E-Prescribing, Privacy and Security.
On January 3, 2011 the ONC issued the Final Rule for Establishment of the Permanent Certification Program for Health Information Technology. The rule will be officially published in the Federal Register on January 7, 2011. The ONC will use the permanent certification program to authorize testing bodies to certify electronic health record technology beginning Jan. 1, 2012. The permanent program also brings us ONC-Approved Accreditors (ONC-AA) and Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACBs). Organizations will need to be accredited first by an ONC-AA before becoming and ONC-ACB.
January 3rd also brought us the start of registration for the EHR Incentive Program. There has been no news on just how many have registered in the opening days. For complete registration information visit the registration page.
Check out Version 2.0 of the Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL). The list is the comprehensive listing of certified Complete EHRs and EHR Modules. The new cart interface searches products, checks product meeting required criteria and issues certification IDs.
A new resource can be found on the site for recipients of ONC grants. The Business Grants Management Resourceswas developed to assist grant recipients on management policies and issues. Among these are Management Advisories, policy statements, Program Information Notices (PINS), and Program Assistance Letters (PALS).
Until the next check up…
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