ONC, HHS Announce Interim Final Rules for Meaningful Use

Link: Health Information Technology: Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria for Electronic Health Record Technology

Link: Proposed Rule: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Electronic Health Record Incentive Program

After a wonderful holiday with family, I took a quick look at today's long-awaited announcement from ONC and DHHS on criteria meeting the meaningful use definition. Interestingly, besides AHIC and HITSP, CCHIT played a role in the ONC decision.

After considering CCHIT certification criteria, AHIC recommended that the Secretary recognize CCHIT-identified certification criteria for functionality, interoperability, and security.

As required by the HITECH Act, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published an initial set of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria to enhance the interoperability, functionality, utility, and security of health information technology. These criteria are outlined in the interim final rule (IFR) on Standards & Certification Criteria issued today by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

The recommendation states that 2006 ambulatory EHR certification criteria, in conjunction with the published final rules, means that EHR software will be “deemed to be interoperable if a certifying body recognized by the Secretary has certified the software no more than 12 months prior to the date it is provided to the physician/practice...

These provisions of the EHR exception and safe harbor anticipated that: 1) HHS would recognize one or more EHR certifying bodies, and 2) HHS would recognize criteria for the certification of EHRs. The Federal Register notice (71 FR 44295) describing the Secretary’s recognition of these certification criteria was published on August 4, 2006.

I will provide additional comments later, but this initial ruling (at the link above) means that EHR systems with CCHIT Certification, purchased and installed, may indeed meet the meaningful use criteria supporting financial reimbursements/incentives to facilities and providers, as well as the overall objective for improved health outcomes.

The August '08 matrix for Meaningful Use Criteria can be found here for comparison purposes. The public comment/feedback period begins now.

 

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Comments

[Deborah Leyva]

Hi Brad, the relationship is that in 2006 2006, CCHIT presented its 2006 ambulatory EHR certification criteria to AHIC and after considering the criteria, AHIC recommended that the Secretary recognize CCHIT-identified certification criteria for functionality, interoperability, and
security.

This recommendation informed the Secretary’s decision to recognize the 2006
ambulatory EHR certification criteria for use by recognized certification bodies in
conjunction with published final rules for exceptions to the physician self-referral law and safe harbors to the anti-kickback statute for electronic prescribing and EHR software arrangements (71 FR 45140 and 71 FR 45110, respectively).

The way I interpreted it is that the CCHIT criteria was considered as the Govt came up with the Meaningful Use Criteria in its proposed Interim Final Rule.

Hope this helps. For more information take a look at the IFR 45 CFR 170.

[Brad Rourke]

I'm confused how the what was published in 2006 relates to the 2009 HITECH Certification

These provisions of the EHR exception and safe harbor anticipated that: 1) HHS would recognize one or more EHR certifying bodies, and 2) HHS would recognize criteria for the certification of EHRs. The Federal Register notice (71 FR 44295) describing the Secretary’s recognition of these certification criteria was published on August 4, 2006.