The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) announced the launch of its new electronic health record (EHR) certification program for hospitals. The EHR Alternative Certification for Hospitals (EACH) is an ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification program for installed hospital EHR technology that has been tested in a pilot program with hospitals in Boston, New York City and Pasadena, Calif.
The EACH program, relying on required ONC criteria and NIST test procedures and tools, 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
The hospitals participating in the pilot program are Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston; Huntington Hospital, Pasadena, Calif.; and NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City.
