Easing physician jitters about investing in pricey health information technology products could help persuade FPs to purchase them. To help dispel physicians' fears and uncertainties, a commission created last summer will soon begin work on health IT product certification.
On Sept. 1, the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology appointed Academy EVP Douglas Henley, M.D., and 11 other commissioners to serve one-year terms on the CCHIT.
"I am excited to represent the AAFP on this important commission," said Henley. "Our members have enthusiastically taken advantage of our Partners for Patients program and our Center for Health Information Technology as they move to adopt electronic health record technology in their practices. However, physicians need the added assurance that these technologies meet the criteria necessary to be compatible and interoperable, and that is the goal of this certification effort."
The 12 commissioners represent three primary stakeholders: providers that purchase health care IT products; vendors that develop, market, install and support these systems; and purchasers or payers that will offer incentives and support for health care IT adoption.
The formation of a certification process for health IT products was publicly encouraged by HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson at a July 21 IT summit in Washington. Thompson expressed a strong desire to see such a process rise out of the private sector rather than the federal government.
CCHIT was the brainchild of the American Health Information Management Association, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, and the National Alliance for Health Information Technology. These organizations are providing the initial funding and staffing for the certification effort.
In its September news release, the commission said it hoped to "reduce the risk of IT investment by health care providers" and ensure interoperability of local and national health information infrastructures. The commission aims to have initial certification requirements and processes ready for testing by next summer.
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