The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recently announced that they have launched an accreditation program for Health Information Technology under the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) as the approver. This was in coordination with the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. The Federal Register established a regulation in their final rule publication regarding the ONC.
In a release, Lane Hallenbeck, ANSI VP for accreditation services, said, “ANSI is pleased to confirm this new scope of accreditation and call for applications from bodies that certify HIT products for electronic health records (EHR). We appreciate and respect the ONC's trust in the value and integrity of ANSI accreditation, and are committed to build on the record of confidence established via public-private partnerships with many other government agencies relying on ANSI accreditation.”
This program intends to improve the comprehensiveness, transparency, reliability, and efficiency of the certification process for the health information technology in the United States. This is one of the first instances of an accreditation undertaken by the health and human services department in health information technology. The certification body in accordance with ANSI and ONC will assess the requirements and compliance demonstrated for accreditation. The health bodies should demonstrate the following guidelines.
This program will look to improve the certification processes for health information technology in the United States by focusing on comprehensiveness, transparency, reliability, and efficiency. The first of accreditations are expected in 2012 and will be granted according to the assessment of certification body competence that is in accordance with ONC and ANSI requirements. There also has to be demonstrated compliance with ISO/IEC Guide 65 - General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems; IAF Guidance on the application of ISO/IEC Guide 65; ANSI Policy – PL - 102 – Manual of Operations for Accreditation of Product Certification Programs and 45 CFR Part 170 – Health Information Technology Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria and Certification Programs for Health Information Technology
ANSI has released a statement confirming that they will be accepting applications until 7th October 2011 for the initial accreditation program. ANSI has a portfolio of accreditation programs. Some of them include certification and verification bodies for products, personnel, greenhouse gas emissions, and standard developers. ANSI’s mission is to enhance global competitiveness by the U.S. and improve American quality of life by promoting, safeguarding, and facilitation the integrity of the voluntary standardization.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.
Calvin Azuri is a contributing editor for HealthTechZone. To read more of Calvin’s articles, please visit his columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
