Certification Commission Announces Launch Of The Source™ For EHR Developers

CHICAGO – Nov. 1, 2011 – The Certification Commission announced today the launch of The Source™, an online certification management service with guides and interactive tools to help developers of commercial EHR products prepare for ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 testing and certification.  There is no cost to register for The Source, which can be previewed at www.Source.CCHIT.org.

“The Source gives EHR developers the opportunity to get expert advice and answers to their questions, participate in online forums with their peers and manage the certification profile for all their products, among other features,” said Alisa Ray, executive director, CCHIT.  “Our successful experience with web-based services created for our EHR Alternative Certification for Healthcare Providers (EACH™) customers led us to design a similar portal for our commercial customers. These portals enable HIT developers interested in certification to prepare their EHR products and project teams for testing, apply for certification and, once their products are certified, add to existing certifications or manage product updates – all online and on demand.”

Hospitals and office-based practices who have achieved certification in CCHIT’s EACH program give high marks to  CCHIT’s self-paced online programs and tools. Some of these experiences are collected at http://each.cchit.org.

EHR developers who register at The Source have immediate access to:

• The Guide to EHR Certification – a description of CCHIT’s ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification program
• A virtual tour of all The Source features
• A sample of CCHIT’s searchable Knowledge Base for answers to common questions
• A fee calculator to estimate the cost of ONC-ATCB certification for an EHR product
• A first look at the individual My Certifications – a dashboard which enables EHR developers to manage the certification profile for all their products

At The Source, EHR developers also can subscribe to CCHIT’s Get Ready program, which allows access to additional resources, such as:

• Guidance on how to prepare for testing and certification
• Educational videos on preparing for interoperability and security testing
• Tools to evaluate how an EHR product already measures up to ONC requirements
  Full access to CCHIT’s Knowledge Base and test script resources
• Participation in The Source Forum where developers can ask questions and share information on certification challenges with their peers

All resources at The Source are immediately available to CCHIT’s current customers. For all new customers, a preliminary subscription fee for the Get Ready program will automatically be credited to an EHR developer’s application fee for ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification.  Once the testing and certification process is complete, subscribers will remain members of The Source community where they can manage their certification records and product updates, stay up-to-date on future ONC certification stage requirements and other CCHIT programs. 

About CCHIT
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology. The Commission has been certifying electronic health record technology since 2006 and is approved by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB).  More information on CCHIT, CCHIT Certified® products and ONC-ATCB certified electronic health record technology is available at http://cchit.org  and http://each.cchit.org. 

“CCHIT®” and “CCHIT Certified®” are registered trademarks of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.