Certification Commission Plans 2008 Pilot Test

Announces Upcoming Events at HIMSS 08 Annual Conference

CHICAGO – February 4, 2008 – The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology announced today that, in preparation for the July 1 launch of its 2008 electronic health record (EHR) certification program, it is inviting EHR vendors to apply for participation in the 2008 Pilot Test to be held from March 17 through April 2.  The Pilot Test is designed to validate new or revised criteria, test steps, and testing tools against real products and to solicit vendor comment to fine tune the inspection process.

Pilot Test participants will have an opportunity to test new product readiness against the proposed 2008 test scripts without a fee while also providing valuable feedback that will be used to refine the criteria and testing process.  Participating vendors will be announced at the conclusion of the Pilot Test.

The 2008 Pilot Test certification categories include:

  • Ambulatory
  • Inpatient
  • Emergency Department
  • Enterprise (includes Ambulatory, Inpatient, and Emergency Department functionality as well as demonstration of interoperability between those domains)
  • Child Health (an added endorsement available to Ambulatory EHR product vendors)
  • Cardiovascular Medicine (a specialized certification available to Ambulatory EHR product vendors)

In order to ensure that the test participants reflect the industry as whole, vendors will be asked to indicate whether they primarily serve small, mid-size, or enterprise customers.  The Certification Commission will qualify applicants based on their ability to support various certification product categories as well as their demonstrated readiness for participation.  If there are multiple qualified applicants for a product category, the Commission will select randomly from the applicants within the category.

The Pilot Test for Network (health information exchange) certification will be held later in 2008.

How to Apply

Interested vendors can find more information and apply online at www.cchit.org/pilot. Applications are due by Feb. 22 and selection will be finalized by Feb. 29. 

CCHIT at HIMSS08 Annual Conference

The Certification Commission’s leadership and staff will be available at the HIMSS08 Annual Conference, Orlando, for these informative sessions:

  • CCHIT Town Hall, at HIMSS ‘08 at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, on Feb. 25, 10:00 – 11:30 AM.  This open meeting will report the progress of the Certification Commission’s work for 2008 and provide an opportunity to offer questions and comments.
  • CCHIT Vendor Briefing:  Interoperability Testing with LAIKA, at HIMSS08 on Feb. 25, 2:00 – 3:00 PM, Room 230A, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando. This second technical briefing by the Certification Commission and MITRE test tool design engineers will demonstrate the work of the project team on CCD testing.
  • CCHIT Vendor Briefing: Preparing for 2008 Certification, at HIMSS08 on Feb. 25, 3:00 – 4:00 PM, Room 230A, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando. The Commission’s Certification Program Director will preview the new 2008 certifications for Child Health, Emergency Department and Cardiovascular Medicine.

About the Certification Commission

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology is an independent, nonprofit organization that has been officially named by the federal government as a “recognized certification body” for electronic health record products.  Its mission is to accelerate the adoption of health information technology by creating a credible, sustainable product certification program.  The certification requirements are based on widely accepted industry standards and involve the work of hundreds of expert volunteers and input from a variety of stakeholders throughout the health care industry.  More information on the Commission and CCHIT CertifiedSM products is available at www.cchit.org.

“CCHITSM” and “CCHIT CertifiedSM” are service marks of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.