CCHIT considers broadening information

One of the knocks against the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) is that it doesn't help physicians distinguish among certified EHRs. Whether a vendor is new or established, large or small, popular or unknown, it's simply listed as having a certified product.

CCHIT's commissioners are considering whether to provide additional data about certified vendors. Such information, says internist Mark Leavitt, chairman of CCHIT, might include a vendor's annual sales volume, how long it's been in business, and how long the certified EHR has been on the market. The right questions still have to be worked out, Leavitt says, and he points out that some vendors that are part of public companies might not be able to release sales data. But he believes that market pressure would force most vendors to cough up the information, which would be posted on the CCHIT website.