Meaningful Use and EHR Certification
AHIMA Meaningful Use White Paper Series
Paper no. 4
Preceding papers in this series have reviewed requirements within the notice of proposed rulemaking on meaningful use, published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on January 13, 2010. This fourth paper takes a look at a companion rule on EHR certification.
Providers and hospitals that wish to participate in the meaningful use incentive program must use EHR technology that meets federal requirements. Commonly referred to as certification criteria or certification standards, these requirements were officially published January 13, 2010, and become effective February 12. With the publication of the criteria, healthcare providers and vendors can begin to assess and align their systems accordingly.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, or ONC, released the criteria in an interim final rule titled “Health Information Technology: Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria for Electronic Health Record Technology.” Given how closely the criteria are tied to the meaningful use program, the IFR’s publication was concurrent with the notice of proposed rulemaking on meaningful use that came from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Although the IFR is effective February 12, ONC will accept comments on it until March 13. There is potential for the rule to be changed before a final rule is published. (more…)



