CCHIT: A Catalyst for Health Information Technology Adoption

Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD, Chair, Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT). CCHIT is an independent, HHS funded organization established to accelerate the adoption of HIT by creating a sustainable product certification program. The goal of increasing EHR use has reached a significant milestone – the availability of the first certified ambulatory EHR products. CCHIT is developing the criteria and process for certifying EHRs and the network components through which they interoperate; it recently embarked on Phase II for inpatient EHRs. The certification criteria include the clinical features of EHRs that improve patient outcomes, the standards by which EHRs can share health information across care settings and the capabilities of EHRs to protect health information. Dr. Leavitt describes the criteria, general observations from the first round of the certification process, and how to find a list of certified vendors. See www.cchit.org for more info.