More EHR products get seal of approval
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Certification commission begins second round of product reviews and looks forward to 2007
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology has certified two more e-health record software products as meeting the commission's criteria for functionality, interoperability and information security.
The two products are iMedica Patient Relationship Manager 2005, version 5.1, from iMedica Corp. and Praxis Electronic Medical Records, version 3.4, from INFOR-MED Corp.
The commission also announced today that two other products that were conditionally certified before being installed in customers' offices have received full certification. They are MEDENT 16 from Community Computer Service and Medical and Practice Management Suite, Client Server Version 5.5, (Service Release 2.1) by LSS Data Systems. CCHIT certified the EHR component of the LSS product.
Commission spokeswoman Sue Reber said that completed the organization's actions on its first round of certifications of EHR products for use in doctors' offices. Twenty-two products that the commission calls 'ambulatory' received certifications during July.
The commission is beginning a new round of certifications for ambulatory products and will accept vendor applications Aug. 1 through Aug. 14. Those that are certified will be announced in October, Reber said.
Asked whether fewer applications are expected in the second round, Reber said 'our guess is that there may be fewer applicants this time,' but she said commission officials have no way of knowing.
Other sources estimate that there are around 200 EHR products on the market.
CCHIT also has posted on its Web site proposed criteria for its certifications in 2007, including 'inpatient' or hospital EHRs. It is accepting comments on the criteria until Aug. 25.
In addition, the commission is seeking candidates to serve as commissioners for two-year terms. That information also appears on the Web site.
CCHIT was formed by industry associations to make buying EHR software easier and less risky. It is supported by a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services.
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