EHR certification bodies named

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology of Chicago and the Drummond Group Inc. of Austin, Texas, were named in August by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) as the first technology review bodies authorized to test and certify electronic health record (EHR) systems for compliance with the standards and certification criteria that were issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year.

Announcement of these ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies means that EHR vendors can now begin to have their products certified as meeting criteria to support meaningful use. Meaningful use of a certified EHR is required for Medicare-accepting physicians to earn $44,000 over 5 years from Medicare and $64,000 from Medicaid.

Applications for additional certifying groups are also under review, according to the ONC.