The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) will release a proposed rule for 2015 that will ratchet up the EHR certification process.
“This is the first time that ONC is putting out certification regulations separate from the meaningful use incentive program,” said Jacob Reider, MD, acting ONC chief (pictured).
Medical practices need to be aware of this, especially when assessing certified EHR technology moving forward. Theoretically, with an annual certification process in place, EHR systems will more closely track and adapt to emerging industry standards. That, in turn, will lead to greater interoperability among EHR systems, the primary thrust of meaningful use Stage 2. In short, there should be less likelihood of you selecting an EHR unable to communicate with other systems, and patient information would flow more freely.