ONC Health IT Certification Program Updates (02/07/2017)

ONC Health IT Certification Program Updates (02/07/2017)

Announcing ONC-Authorized Testing Laboratory (ONC-ATLs)

ONC is pleased to announce that the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has granted the following NVLAP- accredited testing laboratories status as ONC- Authorized Testing Laboratory (ONC-ATL) in the ONC Health IT Certification Program.

• Drummond Group
• ICSA Labs
• InfoGard Laboratories, Inc.
• SLI Compliance, A Division of Gaming Laboratories International, LLC.

Effective December 19, 2016, the ONC Health IT Certification Program: Enhanced Oversight and Accountability Final Rule requires an organization seeking to test health IT in the ONC Health IT Certification Program, to also complete and submit an application for approval to the National Coordinator.

Additional information on the ONC-ATLs can be found on the ONC Health IT Certification Program’s webpage.

Requests for ONC-Approved Accreditor Status

The current term for the Office of the National Coordinator-Approved Accreditor (ONC-AA) is set to expire in June 2017.  ONC has published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the 30-day submission period for requests for ONC-AA status (82 FR 9570). 

ONC is accepting requests for ONC-AA status now through March 9, 2017 for the 3-year term to follow the term of the current ONC-AA.  There is no required “application form” for submitting requests for ONC-AA status, but those accreditation organizations requesting ONC-AA status must comply with the requirements of 45 CFR §170.503(b). ONC will accept requests by email (ONC-AA@hhs.gov) and regular or express mail.   

For further instructions on submitting a request for ONC-AA status, please review the notice published in the Federal Register.   

Test Method Updates

Recently Updated Test Procedures (TPs)

2015 Edition Test Procedures (TPs)
Criterion Number	Criterion Title	Details
§ 170.315(b)(1)	Transitions of Care	Removed note regarding send payload from page 4. Added IMAP tests 29a & 29b, POP tests 29a & 29b to be consistent with SMTP Tests 26a & 26b
§ 170.315(g)(1)	Automated Numerator Recording	Removed (g)(7) from the first table. Modified the first table to link Required Test 9 to the (b)(2) criterion. Clarified in the global test requirements that health IT developers are not required to use more than one measure for testing. Added Inpatient CPOE measure statements.
§ 170.315(g)(2)	Automated Measure Calculation	Removed (g)(7) from the first table. Modified the first table to link Required Test 9 to the (b)(2) criterion. Clarified in the global test requirements that health IT developers are not required to use more than one measure for testing. Added the Inpatient measure language for the CPOE measures.

Recently Updated Certification Companion Guide (CCGs)

2015 Edition Certification Companion Guides (CCGs)
Criterion Number	Criterion Title	Details
§ 170.315(d)(2)	Auditable events and tamper-resistance	Clarification added for “Query” actions
§ 170.315(g)(4)	Quality Management System	Reorganized clarifications for clarity. Added clarification for implementation aspects related to integrating with relevant capabilities, including relied upon software. Added clarification regarding the applicability and requirements for the mapping provisions, including application to agile development.

Certified Health IT Products List (CHPL)

On February 6th, 2017, the Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL) debuted a new look with updated features and improved navigation. The changes include:

• Updated Automated Numerator Recording and Automated Measure Calculation (“G1/G2”) values to reflect actual domain types that were tested. For example, may now specify "Eligible Hospital" or "Eligible Provider" for a given certification criterion on a listing.
• The "Decertification" tab has been removed and will be replaced with the following:
  • "Inactive Products" tab – includes products withdrawn by their developers while the product is NOT under ONC-ACB surveillance or ONC direct review.
  • "Decertified Products" tab – includes products terminated by ONC, withdrawn by an ONC-ACB, or withdrawn by their developers while under ONC-ACB surveillance or ONC direct review.
  • "Certification Ban" tab – includes developers under a certification ban.
• The CHPL search default will now only include products with active certificates (this includes products suspended by an ONC-ACB or ONC).
• The CMS EHR Certification ID Widget is moving from the search page to its own tab and will now be visible on all CHPL pages.
  • Users will be able to add products to the widget from the search page or the product details page.

If there are any additional questions about the CHPL, please contact ONC_CHPL@hhs.gov

For additional information on the 2015 Edition requirements, please visit https://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/2015-edition-final-rule

Questions may be directed to the ONC Health IT Certification Program via email at: ONC.Certification@hhs.gov