A standards partnership offers a new certification program designed to assure the security and interoperability of health IT.

The program from IHE USA, a nonprofit organization that drives adoption of standards-based interoperability to improve patient care, and ICSA Labs, a division of Verizon, will provide industry-accepted certification to complement existing conformance testing to IHE integration profiles to ensure that different software and systems can connect. Certification to these profiles, which also provide underpinnings to Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) specifications, will give purchasers of health IT products independent third-party assurance that there is a standardized, repeatable process that ensures products are suitable for health data exchange, and that the products function as intended.  

Participants who are registered for IHE USA's 2013 NA Connectathon will be able to register for certification testing at the event. Results will be evaluated by ICSA Labs, which will grant certification based on requirements set forth by IHE USA, and the general principles covered by ISO/IEC Guide 65 for organizations providing product certification. Certification also

Certified products will be published by IHE USA, as well as in the official ICSA Labs product directory. Three tiers of certification will be awarded:

• Tier 1: Conformance to IHE profiles
• Tier 2: Demonstrated interoperability among disparate systems
• Tier 3: Validated implementations of deployed certified technology