Can Savvy Practice Management Snare ‘Stimulus’ Dollars?
While the government has not announced which organization will certify EHRs, many say it will be the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT). “Certification is a grey area, and one of the most important in terms of physician adoption,” says Robert Tennant, senior policy advisor at the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). How the certification will work is unclear. For instance, if a product is certified in 2006 but not in 2009, will it meet the government’s requirements for certification? In addition, certification for products deemed certifiable in 2007-2008 is good for two years; however, subsequent certification requirements will be tougher to meet. More than likely, says Tennant, to be eligible for the incentive money starting in 2011, physicians will have to have a product that was certified in 2010. Whether vendors will have to re-certify their products every year remains to be seen. Getting an EHR certified is not a trivial task, and smalle
