Continuity of Care Document (CCD) Quick Start Guide
The Continuity of Care Document Quick Start Guide (QSG) is provided free of charge by EHRVA, as a service to vendors and others who will be implementing healthcare documents based on the CCD Implementation Guide. EHRVA’s goal is to accelerate implementation of this standard which is endorsed by HIMSS, integral to several key HITSP interoperability specifications and IHE content profiles, and is expected to be required for CCHIT certification.
Download the Continuity of Care Document (CCD) Quick Start Guide
EHRVA Interoperability Roadmap V2c-draft
The EHRVA Interoperability Roadmap supports the national goal of interoperable electronic health records and provides a pragmatic, logical plan that will succeed when adopted and implemented by key stakeholders. We provide this Roadmap to mobilize the leadership of healthcare organizations, information technology vendors and other relevant stakeholders to collectively deliver on the vision by incorporating this Roadmap into their plans.
Download the EHRVA Interoperability Roadmap
Comments and questions on the Interoperability Roadmap are welcome. They should be sent to: garnett@himss.org.
CDA/CRS Quick Start Guide
The CDA/CRS Quick Start Guide provides directives for managing clinical content in order to establish healthcare information interoperability. The Guide was developed by Alschuler Associates, LLC, a consulting firm that also worked with the EHRVA on the Quick Start Guide for Simple CDA Release 2.0 Documents.
Download the Quick Start Guide
Lessons Learned from the CCHIT Ambulatory EHR Certification Process
July 27, 2006
In the quest to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of U.S. healthcare, certification of electronic health record (EHR) software products can be a disruptive and potentially transformational factor. On July 18, the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) announced the initial list of 20 vendor products that went through the new process and were certified as meeting the requisite criteria.
HIMSS applauds the vendors who received their certification. In being the first group to submit their products for testing, evaluation and certification, they have shown themselves to be change leaders. We appreciate the information they shared for the benefit of their colleagues and the industry.
Following the CCHIT announcement, HIMSS convened representatives from many of these newly-certified vendors to discuss their experiences and try to glean lessons learned from the process. This session was designed not to evaluate the certification process, but to establish a common base of knowledge about the process for all.
We hope HIMSS Corporate Members will find the following information useful. According to the newly-certified vendors, CCHIT’s process was clearly defined and the criteria were very detailed. Overall, though laborious and very time consuming, it is a relatively straightforward process.
Lessons Learned
- Assemble your entire team: technology, legal counsel, sales, and management. Answering the criteria becomes easier if everyone is in the same room jointly interpreting the questions.
- Thoroughly review the certification process requirements before starting. Materials can be found at http://www.cchit.org/vendors/learn/criteria.htm
- The criteria will be updated yearly. Think strategically as your organization develops product plans and consider what might be changed over the next three years. Prepare for the costs a firm will incur in the certification process.
- Get involved! It’s crucially important for vendors to participate in the CCHIT comment periods. Through the HIMSS EHR Vendor Association, vendors can provide joint responses and inform the CCHIT criteria and process. If only a few vendors respond, the impact of the entire vendor community is marginalized – yet the impact on the entire vendor community could be significant. CCHIT must move forward with the input it receives; thoughtful, comprehensive, and coordinated vendor input is fundamentally important.
- Provide consistency from start to finish by assigning a point person early in the process. One dedicated person to shepherd the company through the entire process will prove to be a significant benefit to a firm’s efforts.
As the nation embarks on the widespread deployment of EHRs, a variety of concomitant challenges and barriers must be addressed.
-Statement: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
