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ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies
The online list of certified electronic health record technology is updated as ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies to certify new products.The following organizations have been selected as ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ATCBs):
- Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT)
Date of authorization: September 3, 2010.
Scope of authorization: Complete EHR and EHR Modules.
“CCHIT®” and “CCHIT Certified®” are registered trademarks of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology
- Drummond Group, Inc.(DGI) - Austin, Texas.
Date of authorization: September 3, 2010.
Scope of authorization: Complete EHR and EHR Modules.
- InfoGard Laboratories, Inc. – San Luis Obispo, CA
Date of authorization: September 24, 2010.
Scope of authorization: Complete EHR and EHR Modules.
Certification by an ATCB will signify to eligible professionals, hospitals, and critical access hospitals that an EHR technology has the capabilities necessary to support their efforts to meet the goals and objectives of meaningful use.
Meaningful Use Requirements Have Been Finalized
ONC-ATCB today launched its certification program for electronic health records to certify that EHRs are capable of meeting the 2011/2012 criteria to support Stage 1 meaningful use as required by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and qualify eligible providers & hospitals for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The certification will be offered for Complete EHRs that meet all of the HHS 2010/2011 criteria and EHR Modules that meet one or more – but not all – of the criteria.
- Who is a Medicare Eligible Provider?
- Meaningful Use: Core Set Objectives
- Meaningful Use: Menu Set Objectives
- Specific Steps Needed to Register for Incentives
- HITECH Eligibility in Addition to other programs such as PQRI and Medicaid eRx
- May 2011 Incentive Payment Begin
How It Relates To Healthcare Providers
The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 was signed into law on February 17, 2009 by President Barack Obama. With close to $21 Billion Dollars allocated with incentives to assist providers in adopting Electronic Health Records (EHR). Are you aware of the provisions in the Act and how they affect the Healthcare Industry?
One of the major incentives of the Act is that early EHR adaptors will receive the most benefits since 70% of the reimbursements are available during the initial two (2) years. The legislation does have a specific timeline with the funds becoming available for physicians on January 1, 2011 and hospitals October 1, 2010. The funds range from $44,000-$64,000 per physician and $2-$8 million per hospital.
EHR Incentive Program Highlights
How you can Qualify for your Incentive Payment?
The stimulus package passed for the year 2009 pumps $19 billion into the medical industry to help implement technology that makes healthcare safer and more connected. Those who prove meaningful use of Electronic Health Records can receive an incentive reimbursement of up to $64,000 over six years. Hospitals can qualify for $2-8 million in funding. Remember, 70% of the incentive comes within the first two years. This means that in order to receive the maximum reimbursement, you must start early.
The law states that a physician must purchase a “certified” Electronic Health Record by 2015 and demonstrate a “meaningful use” of the software. If no EHR is in place by 2015 the physician or hospital will be penalized by a decrease in reimbursement of their Medicare or Medicaid rates. Currently terms like “certified” and “meaningful use” and other specifics of the Act have yet to be defined but will be written by the end of the year. For a more in-depth summary of the ARRA visit the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) website which offers a comprehensive look at the provisions of the Act including a payment schedule for eligible professionals, http://www.himss.org/content/files/HIMSSSummaryOfARRA.pdf
With 15 years of experience in the healthcare field MedEZ™ has witnessed first-hand the importance of providing and implementing credible solutions for the populace and we are firmly committed to the universal standardization of information exchange within the industry. That said we are closely monitoring activity surrounding the Act to help provide our clients and the healthcare community with the latest information and tools to maximize their level of funding.
In the interim, MedEZ will continue to ensure the highest quality of our software and prove ourselves as an industry leader in this historic healthcare move forward. MedEZ has spent much time perfecting and designing electronic health records software. Our MedEZ-EHR was custom designed for our clients with a sharp focus on compliance. Whether it’s your employees or patient documents you’re able to eliminate lost paper files, retrieve medical records at the push of a button, attach all records to a single file, recover records any place any time, and create a HIPPA-compliant paperless environment.
For more information on how to become a part of the family of the Doctors, CMHCs, CORFs, ORFs, Hospitals, IPFs and IRFs around the nation using MedEZ™, please contact us at info@medez.com or call toll free:877-AT-MEDEZ (877-286-3339).