CCHIT seeks input on new EHR certifications

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) will hold a series of two Town Call Web conferences on June 16 and 17 to gather stakeholder input on new paths to certification of EHR technologies. The goal of the sessions is to support more rapid, widespread adoption and meaningful use under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

"ARRA has turbocharged the drive for health IT adoption and meaningful use," said Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD, CCHIT's chair. "Certification--an explicit requirement of that law--must become more robust and more flexible at the same time, to allow these powerful incentives to deliver the desired result: improved health and healthcare. We will share our new ideas and invite feedback from the health community."

The Town Calls will explore certification to meaningful use, enhancements to current programs, and new and updated programs to make certification more accessible to a wider variety of EHR technologies, including modular, self-developed and open source applications.

The first Town Call on June 16 at 1 p.m. EDT, will focus on concerns regarding certification of applications licensed under open-source models.

The second Town Call on June 17 at 11 a.m. EDT, is intended for a general audience, exploring all of the new programs and their intended goals.

During both events, participants will be invited to submit questions and comments online. Registration is required for the free Town Calls at http://cchit.org/towncalls.

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