ONC authorizes InfoGard to test, certify EHRs
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has named InfoGard Laboratories as an ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB). InfoGard, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., has been approved for certification of complete EHRs and EHR modules for both ambulatory and inpatient settings, effective Sept. 24.
InfoGard is the third entity to gain ONC-ATCB status and joins the Certification Commission for Health IT, of Chicago; and Austin, Texas-based Drummond Group, which were approved last month. InfoGard is the only ATCB that is also NIST-accredited to assist EHR vendors with achieving compliance with NIST standards.
Additional applications are under review, according to ONC.
Certification of EHRs is part of a broad initiative under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. HITECH created new incentive payment programs to help health providers as they transition from paper-based medical records to EHRs.
Incentive payments totaling as much as $27 billion may be made under the program. Individual physicians and other eligible professionals can receive up to $44,000 through Medicare and almost $64,000 through Medicaid.
To qualify for the incentive payments offered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services providers must not only adopt, but also demonstrate the meaningful use of certified EHR systems.
More information about the ONC certification programs is available here.
InfoGard is the third entity to gain ONC-ATCB status and joins the Certification Commission for Health IT, of Chicago; and Austin, Texas-based Drummond Group, which were approved last month. InfoGard is the only ATCB that is also NIST-accredited to assist EHR vendors with achieving compliance with NIST standards.
Additional applications are under review, according to ONC.
Certification of EHRs is part of a broad initiative under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. HITECH created new incentive payment programs to help health providers as they transition from paper-based medical records to EHRs.
Incentive payments totaling as much as $27 billion may be made under the program. Individual physicians and other eligible professionals can receive up to $44,000 through Medicare and almost $64,000 through Medicaid.
To qualify for the incentive payments offered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services providers must not only adopt, but also demonstrate the meaningful use of certified EHR systems.
More information about the ONC certification programs is available here.