Will CCHIT Become Certifying Body for HITECH?

Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) is a private not-for-profit organization that serves as a recognized certification authority for electronic health records (EHR) and their. Their mission is to accelerate the adoption of interoperable health information technology by creating a credible, efficient certification process. Currently CCHITs’ hand holds most of the EHR industry cards when it comes to determining the path for future product development. And most will agree there will be very few cards left if CCHIT is selected as the certification required for the HITECH Act.

And can we all agree CCHIT has its share of criticism and controversy these days? But in the end, it is currently the only recognized certification body, the reason Dr. Levitt (Chair of CCHIT) “has confidence that CCHIT will become the certifying board for ARRA/HITECH.” CCHIT also claims that certification applications have significantly increased since the passage of ARRA/HITECH.

View CCHIT 2009-2010 Materials released May 29, 2009 

From CCHIT website: “CCHIT is transitioning its timelines to adapt to the new requirements of the HITECH Act as well as the still-emerging work processes of ONC and its advisory committees. The materials published here represent the final materials from our 09 development cycle. Instead of immediately launching 09 certification programs, we have submitted the criteria to the Standards Committee for review, and we anticipate some degree of feedback by August 26, 2009. We will work to quickly resolve any gaps, then begin accepting applications for our 2009-2010 certification programs as soon as possible after that. If the final rulemaking leads to any additional changes by Dec. 31, 2009, we will update the certification programs to accommodate those.”