ONC establishes disciplinary procedure for ONC-AA
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) recently unveiled a final rule that further details the responsibilities of the ONC-Approved Accreditor (ONC-AA) and outlines a process for disciplinary action should the ONC-AA fail to meet those responsibilities.
The ONC, which was authorized by the HITECH Act to implement a certification program for health IT products, instituted a temporary health IT certification program in June 2010, but the final rule, published Nov. 25 in the Federal Register, defines the ONC’s future role as the disciplinarian in a permanent certification program that will begin in summer 2012.
According to the requirements of the proposed permanent certification program, a single entity will serve at a given time as the sole ONC-AA responsible for accrediting other entities as ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACB), qualifying them to certify certain health IT products as in compliance or not in compliance with meaningful use criteria.
The final rule regarding the ONC-AA stipulated that the ONC can revoke the accrediting entity’s power if it “engages in improper conduct or does not perform its responsibilities under the permanent certification program.” The ONC-AA will be subject to discipline for conduct violations, such as noncompliance with laws or with the permanent certification program’s policies, or performance violations such as a failure to properly monitor ONC-ACBs.
If an entity is removed as ONC-AA, it will be allowed an opportunity for appeal and for readmission as the ONC-AA following a year of suspension.
The ONC, which was authorized by the HITECH Act to implement a certification program for health IT products, instituted a temporary health IT certification program in June 2010, but the final rule, published Nov. 25 in the Federal Register, defines the ONC’s future role as the disciplinarian in a permanent certification program that will begin in summer 2012.
According to the requirements of the proposed permanent certification program, a single entity will serve at a given time as the sole ONC-AA responsible for accrediting other entities as ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACB), qualifying them to certify certain health IT products as in compliance or not in compliance with meaningful use criteria.
The final rule regarding the ONC-AA stipulated that the ONC can revoke the accrediting entity’s power if it “engages in improper conduct or does not perform its responsibilities under the permanent certification program.” The ONC-AA will be subject to discipline for conduct violations, such as noncompliance with laws or with the permanent certification program’s policies, or performance violations such as a failure to properly monitor ONC-ACBs.
If an entity is removed as ONC-AA, it will be allowed an opportunity for appeal and for readmission as the ONC-AA following a year of suspension.