The Chicago-based Certification Commission for Health Information Technology announced that it has submitted its application to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to become an authorized testing and certification body for purposes of evaluating healthcare providers' use of electronic health-record systems. CCHIT, according to a news release from the commission, expects to be one of the first testing bodies authorized by ONC to provide the EHR-system certification that providers must obtain to be eligible for health IT reimbursement under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Modern Healthcare reporter Andis Robeznieks recently interviewed physician Karen Bell, CCHIT's new chair, about the commission's role in analyzing the meaningful use of EHR systems. Watch the video here.