ONC Delays Permanent EHR Certifiers' Program

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT will delay the launch of the permanent program for certification of electronic health records (EHRs) until mid-2012 to coincide with the anticipated final rule for stage 2 of meaningful use and standards and certification criteria.

ONC also said it needed more time to assemble and approve testing labs and authorized certifying bodies, ONC said in a Nov. 2 announcement by Dr. Farzad Mostashari, the national health IT coordinator, in a preview area of the Federal Register. ONC will officially publish the notice Nov. 3.

Previously, ONC intended to sunset its temporary program at the end of the year and open the permanent and more comprehensive program on or around Jan. 1. ONC has authorized six temporary testing and certifying bodies to approve EHRs and/or EHR modules, which perform only selected functions. They have certified 1,200 EHRs or modules to date....