Dermatology World June 2011 : Page 38
Certification MEANINGFUL its rigor. The independent nonprofi t organization, created in 2004, began certifying EHR technology two years later, and began off ering a dermatology-specifi c certifi cation, based on criteria developed by a work group of dermatologists, for 2011. But while CCHIT is the only body off ering dermatology-specifi c certifi cation, it isn’t the only one approved by the Offi ce of the National Coordinator to certify products for meaningful use and award the ONC-ATCB seal. In 2010 the ONC re-launched the EHR certifi cation program in conjunction with the development of meaningful use incentives and opened up the process to new organizations, creating the Authorized Testing and Certifi cation Bodies (ONC-ATCBs) certifi cation category. Today CCHIT is one of six ONC-ATCBs that have certifi ed more than 400 EHR systems as qualifying for meaningful use incentives. (An up-to-date list of systems that can be used to earn meaningful use incentives is available at http://onc-chpl.force.com/ehrcert. See sidebar, p. 42, for a list of certifying bodies.) As a result of the changes, and the emphasis on meaningful-use certifi cation over certifying products for specialties, only three EHR systems have qualifi ed for CCHIT’s dermatology-specifi c certifi cation (see sidebar for more information), according to dermatologist Mark Kaufmann, M.D., who chairs the EHR demonstration sessions at the Academy’s Annual and summer meetings and serves on the advisory board of Modernizing Medicine. “As you might imagine, there are fewer people going for the rigorous CCHIT certifi cation because they don’t have to,” Dr. Kaufmann said. “There are three derm-certifi ed systems — NextGen, NexTech, and VersaSuite — out of more than 400 systems that are certifi ed for meaningful use.” But, as AAD President-elect Daniel M. Siegel, M.D., who consults for software makers Ensight and DermFirst, points out, some of the remaining 400 systems may well meet a dermatology practice’s needs. “There are programs that are derm-functional, but don’t get the derm certifi cation because they would have to spend more money on that.” (To read more about how CCHIT certifi cation for dermatology was developed, turn to the sidebar on p. 40.) CHOOSING A SYSTEM With many vendors forgoing dermatology certifi cation, dermatologists need to do some digging if they want to look beyond the three CCHIT-Dermatology certifi ed vendors. In choosing a system, it’s important to plan for as much hands-on experience as possible, according to Dr. Kaufmann. The EHR demonstration session at the Annual Meeting, which usually attracts capacity crowds, allows physicians a hands-on demonstration of current EHR software by their colleagues, rather than vendors. Afterwards, he said, many physicians feel far more comfortable exploring the marketplace. “During the demonstrations, we get anywhere from four to six physicians to demonstrate their use of their EHR. They give the good, bad, and ugly of each of their systems. I think that would be a really great way to get your feet wet [for physicians] without EHR experience,” Dr. Kaufmann said. “For those people who are a little savvier, I’d encourage them to see a demo from a vendor, but not rely on a vendor for the decision. They do this all day, so it’s important to take it with a grain of salt. The most important advice that I can give anyone is to go visit a physician who is using a product live and ask if you can just follow them around for an hour or two. Just to see what it’s like to use the system in a live environment. It’s always going to be a little diff erent to see someone using the system in a completely unpredictable way.” Dr. Siegel agreed that seeing a colleague demonstrate EHR use would off er those considering a purchase the best sense of what might work for them. For physicians who may be unable to utilize that option, he said, there are a number of options to gauge a system’s CONTINUED on p. 40 CERTIFICATION SEALS When browsing a vendor’s website or marketing materials, it’s important to look for certification seals to ensure the product qualifies for government incentives. The CCHIT + Dermatology seal signifies an ambulatory product with dermatology features that satisfies CCHIT’s rigorous standards. (All three currently certified systems are also ONC-ATCB certified.) The ONC-ATCB seal denotes products that have been certified by one of the six ONC-ATCB organizations (see sidebar, p. 42) as qualifying for meaningful use. 38 DERMATOLOGY WORLD // June 2011 www.aad.org
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