The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that two electronic health record (EHR) products, previously certified as products that may be used as part of the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, had their certifications terminated. The products do not continue to meet ONC Health IT Certification Program requirements and providers can no longer use these products to meet the requirements of the EHR Incentive Programs.
“We take our responsibility to provide appropriate oversight of certified EHR products seriously and have every expectation that users will have systems that meet the technological capabilities and requirements adopted by Health and Human Services and will take action accordingly,” said Karen DeSalvo, M.D., M.Sc., M.P.H., national coordinator for Health IT.
The EHR products, two versions of SkyCare 4.2, developed by Platinum Health Information System, Inc., had their certifications terminated for failure to respond and participate in routine surveillance requests by InfoGard Laboratories Inc. (InfoGard), an ONC Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ACB). EHRs must be certified by an ONC-ACB before providers may use them to achieve meaningful use under the EHR Incentive Programs.
As a required activity in the ONC Health IT Certification Program and according to standards to which the ONC-ACBs are accredited, InfoGard proactively initiated surveillance activities with Platinum Health. Despite InfoGard’s good faith efforts, Platinum Health did not respond to InfoGard’s surveillance requests and, consequently, was no longer compliant with certification requirements.
To date, forty-eight eligible professionals attested to meeting the Stage 1 requirements of the Medicare EHR Incentive Program using SkyCare EHR products. Although these attestations were made while the products were certified, these providers will need to transition to other certified EHR technology products to continue to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. Providers who are currently using the SkyCare EHR products can apply for a hardship exception from the meaningful use payment adjustments under the Medicare EHR program as they transition to new certified EHR technology. For more information about applying for a hardship exception, providers should visit CMS.gov.
Information about ONC’s certification program for health IT including EHR technologies is available at HealthIT.gov.