Health Law

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) plans to certify personal health records (PHR) beginning in mid-2009.  Certification of PHR products would aim to ensure that records meet standards for patient privacy and security, as well as interoperability between providers.  CCHIT created a PHR Advisory Task Force to develop recommendations that the organization unanimously approved in mid-July. 

A list of other CCHIT certified HIT products are available for:

• Ambulatory EHR 2007
• Inpatient EHR 2007
• Stark and Anti-Kickback Exemption

For the uninitiated, CCHIT is an independent, nonprofit organization that has been recognized by the federal government as an official certification body for electronic health record products.  Its certification requirements are based on widely-accepted industry standards and are said, on CCHIT's website, to involve the work of hundreds of expert volunteers and include input from a variety of stakeholders throughout the health care industry.  You can visit www.cchit.org for more information about CCHIT.