ONC issues final rule for EHR certification program

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) today issued a final rule to establish a temporary certification program for EHR technology, which establishes processes that organizations will need to follow in order to be authorized by the National Coordinator to test and certify EHR technology.

Use of “certified EHR technology” is a core requirement for providers who seek to qualify to receive incentive payments under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs provisions authorized in the Health IT for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. HITECH was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

HHS also reported that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will soon issue final regulations to implement the EHR incentive programs.

Certification is used to provide “assurance and confidence” that a product or service will work as expected and will include the capabilities for which it was purchased, the agency said. EHR certification should make those assurances to healthcare providers, according to HHS, that the EHRs they adopt have been tested and includes the required capabilities they need “to use the technology in a meaningful way.”

In March, HHS issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled Proposed Establishment of Certification Programs for Health IT. The NPRM proposed the establishment of two certification programs for purposes of testing and certifying EHRs—one temporary and one permanent. The temporary certification program final rule issued today will become effective upon publication in the Federal Register. The final rule for the permanent certification program is expected to be published this fall.

“By purchasing certified EHR technology, hospitals and eligible professionals and hospitals will be able to make EHR purchasing decisions knowing that the technology will allow them to become meaningful users of electronic health records, qualify for the payment incentives and begin to use EHRs in a way that will improve quality and efficiency in our health care system,” said David Blumenthal, MD, national coordinator for health information technology. “We hope that all health IT stakeholders view this rule as the federal government’s commitment to reduce uncertainty in the health IT marketplace and advance the successful implementation of EHR incentive programs.”

This final rule is issued under the authority provided to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in section 3001(c)(5) of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) as added by the HITECH Act. 

For more information about the temporary certification program and rule, click here. 

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