Standards

Every vendor involved in ARRA certification, inpatient and eligible ambulatory care provider, has rolled its newly certified code to a beta client or two, on the path to demonstrate Stage 1 Meaningful Use. This will be the first relevant experience for implementation teams to bring Stage 1 functionality live across the install bases.

While at HIMSS last week, I got a chance to sit down with Lee Barrett, Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC)’s executive director, to get an update on his organization’s newest accreditation program, the Health Information Exchange Accreditation Program (HIEAP), as well as how its other certification programs are going. Last year we reported that UHIN’s cHIE in September was the first HIE to be certified by EHNAC (Farmington, Conn.). Currently, there are three more HIEs going through the certification process, according to Barrett, but it’s too early to release the names of those HIEs. The HIEAP not only accredits HIEs, but also vendors over roughly a six-month period with several steps, including a site visit.

In a conversation with Doug Fridsma, the director of Standards and Interoperability for ONC, he detailed the lessons learned from current pilots and set out a six-month roadmap for the ONC’s Direct Project. For the past three years, the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) has been creating cutting edge tools through its CONNECT project and promoting interoperability with federal partners through Direct. With pilots several states including Minnesota and Rhode Island, the Direct Project has been promoting the use of standards to share information

I recently read an article on AuntMinnie.com that addresses how certification will impact radiology services. While the article addresses all aspects of impact, including how radiology services can comply (CPOE, Test Results, etc.), I was intrigued with the comments on the interaction of Radiology Information Systems (RIS) and Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS) with an EHR. I am especially concerned with the statement “But certification does not guarantee compatibility with any other certified EHR module. ONC spokesperson Nancy Szehraj explained the rationale for not testing interoperability. The ONC-ATCBs test and certify to the criteria adopted by the standards and certification rules, which are intended to assure the capability of users to meet the phase 1 meaningful use criteria. Interconnectivity is addressed at this point via the exchange requirements.”

Earlier this week the HIT Policy Committee Workgroup on Meaningful Use discussed requirements for Stage 2, which is scheduled to begin in 2013. Requirements include raising the performance level for computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and electronic prescribing, among other issues. National Coordinator Dr. Blumenthal added that healthcare providers and vendors should expect more complicated requirements on clinical decision support tools and health information exchange. In October, the full HIT Policy Committee is scheduled to release preliminary Stage 2 requirements to be followed in December by a request for comments on the proposal.