Organization and Governance

The Certification Commission is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the sole public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology (HIT) by creating a credible, efficient certification process. It currently operates with 25 paid staff, a 9-member volunteer Board of Trustees, 19 volunteer Commissioners who represent all sectors of health IT and provide strategic guidance and oversight for the CCHIT Certified process and criteria, and more than 300 volunteers who serve on 19 work groups and bring their expertise to the process of developing criteria and test scripts.

Since its founding in 2004, the Commission has grown and evolved significantly. Throughout that evolution, it has maintained a consistent policy of openness in disclosing its governance, funding, policies, and activities. The Commission was first embodied as a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) in 2004, with capital contributions and in-kind staff support from a collaboration of three health IT associations: the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and The National Alliance for Health Information Technology (Alliance). In June 2005, a group of health and medical organizations and corporations showed their support for the Commission by providing additional funding for its work. A total of $100,000, in unrestricted funds came from the combined group of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, Hospital Corporation of America, McKesson Information Solutions, Sutter Health, United Health Foundation and WellPoint Health Networks, Inc.; and a separate $219,000 grant came from the California HealthCare Foundation. While the Commission’s decision-making processes were conducted independently of these sponsors from the outset, the Commission during its formative years purchased or leased payroll and benefit services, office facilities and telecommunications, and staff support from AHIMA and HIMSS at fair market value.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) contracted with the Commission in October 2005 to develop certification programs for EHRs and health information exchanges. CCHIT was first recognized by HHS as a certifying body in 2006. The Commission has successfully met all of the terms, budgets, deliverables and timelines required by the contract and its extension, which concluded in April 2009. With the initiation of the HHS contract, the Commission began developing its own organizational infrastructure as well as transitioning toward self-sustainability through the collection of fees for certification testing. CCHIT is currently an Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Authorized Certification and Testing Body (ONC-ATCB).

Effective January 2007, the LLC formed by HIMSS, AHIMA, and NAHIT was dissolved, with all assets transferred to CCHIT, a new fully independent, nonprofit organization. As of January 2009, the Commission has completed its transition, with its own office facilities at 200 S Wacker Drive in Chicago as well as its own employees and benefits structure. The Commission is registered in the state of Illinois as a not-for-profit corporation, and has received IRS-approval of its 501(c)3 status.