CHICAGO -- February 12, 2007 -- The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT^SM) announced today that second draft certification criteria for inpatient (hospital) electronic health records (EHRs) will be open to public review and comment Feb. 16 through March 16. CCHIT also will seek comments on its proposed 2007 test strategy for these products. Materials will be posted on www.cchit.org and comments can be submitted through the Web site.

Final Public Comment Period for Ambulatory EHRs
Preparing to complete its 2007 update of ambulatory (office-based) EHR certification, the Commission will publish the proposed final criteria and test scripts on February 14, opening a final 14-day public comment period on changes made since the previous publication.

The new criteria will take effect May 1, and will include new requirements for electronically sending prescriptions as well as receiving laboratory test results. These are the first CCHIT interoperability criteria which require common standards for sending and receiving patient care information, allowing EHRs to exchange data and making them compatible with emerging health information networks.

Pilot Test Successful
A pilot test to validate the 2007 ambulatory EHR test scripts was completed successfully and on time, said Alisa Ray, CCHIT executive director. The pilot test participants represented a range of company sizes and included Community Computer Service; Greenway Medical Technologies; NextGen Healthcare Information Systems; and Nightingale Informatix Corporation.

Important dates

• Jan. 29 ? Feb. 14: Last period to apply under 2006 ambulatory EHR certification criteria.
  
  
• Feb. 2 ? March 2: Public comment period on draft roadmap for expansion of EHR certification to professional specialties, care settings, and patient populations.
  
  
• Feb. 14 ? 28: Public comment period on 2007 proposed final ambulatory EHR criteria and test scripts.
  
  
• Feb. 16 ? March 16: Public comment period on second draft certification requirements and 2007 test strategy for inpatient EHRs.
  
  
• Feb. 27, 9:45-11:45 a.m.: Town Hall meeting at Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference in New Orleans to review and take questions on current and future certification plans.
  
  
• Feb. 27, 3-4 p.m. and 4-5 p.m.: Orientation sessions at HIMSS conference to help companies that develop hospital-based EHR products prepare for the new inpatient EHR certification program.