CCHIT Announces First Hospital Certified Under Each Program

The Chicago-based Certification Commission of Health Information Technology (CCHIT) announced that EHR technology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Boston has been certified as a complete EHR under CCHIT’s new EHR Alternative Certification for Hospitals (EACH), an ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification program for installed hospital EHR technology. BIDMC, the first hospital to be certified, took part in a pilot program prior to the official launch of the EACH program on Jan. 18, 2011.

The EACH program offers:

• A series of self-paced, online learning programs designed to prepare EACH program applicants for testing and certification
• Online inventory and self-assessment tools developed to help hospitals evaluate how their installed EHR technology measures up to ONC’s criteria and standards
• Additional hands-on support provided by CCHIT’s EACH program staff and access to an online community of other hospitals participating in the EACH program

CCHIT is developing a similar program for physicians and other ambulatory providers that have self-developed EHR technology, which will be launched in the second quarter of this year.