The guide maps the criteria to the characteristics of a qualified electronic health record as specified in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and highlights the 2009 criteria changes. The commission is also planning to transition its certification program timelines to adapt to the new requirements of ARRA.

The criteria, released on May 29, pertain to ambulatory (office-based), inpatient (hospital-based), enterprise and emergency department electronic health records. CCHIT also published criteria for the new stand-alone electronic prescribing certification, the ambulatory add-on options in child health and cardiovascular medicine. The accompanying “Concise Guide to CCHIT Criteria” is specific to the ambulatory and inpatient criteria.

via CCHIT at work on new timelines, new programs | Healthcare IT News.

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology will put its 2009-2010 programs on hold and update its certification policies in light of guidance contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

CCHIT said today it will defer the launch of its latest certification programs until it has reviewed the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s forthcoming standards and certification criteria. ONC will deliver a draft rule containing those items to the Health and Human Services Department by Aug. 26, according to ONC’s plan for complying with ARRA. CCHIT’s certification cycle was set to begin July 1.

Organization officials said their review of the draft rule will ensure that the certification programs conform to ARRA incentive requirements.

The organization is also revising the Certification Handbook to reflect what it termed the expanded applicability of electronic health record certification under ARRA.

via CCHIT to adapt programs to federal health IT agenda — Government Health IT.