Why It’s Critical to Choose an ONC-Certified EHR Solution

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In the quest to find the perfect Electronic Health Record, or EHR, solution for a given practice, there is an overwhelming number of factors to consider. Does it address base-level needs? What additional features does it offer? Is it easy enough to integrate into the practice and use without extensive training or costs?

Fortunately, there are certain signposts that point toward EHRs with the most useful or recognized functionality – and the ONC Health IT Certification Program is one of them.

Let’s dive in.

What is ONC, and why is it important?

The ONC Health IT Certification Program is meant to signal which health IT systems meet federal requirements and include useful functionality. Health IT companies design technologies that aid in easing clinical documentation and enabling a seamless flow of health information between clinicians, care teams and facilities.

The Health IT Certification Program is a voluntary certification program established by the Office of the National Coordinator that provides certification for healthcare technology.

The ONC Health IT Certification Program guarantees purchasers and other users that a system meets the technological capability, functionality and security requirements adopted by United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ONC-certified EHR software has been tested by a third party and is implemented through a multi-step process that inevitably creates safe and trustworthy programs for providers and hospitals. Requirements for certification are established by standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria adopted by the Secretary.

In particular, certification looks at a solution’s capabilities in:

• Health data exchange and access
• Health IT standardization
• Demographic data capture
• Data segmentation
• Provision of clinical decision support and order entry
• The storing of patient data
• And more

Implications of Using a Certified EHR Software

Surveillance and oversight activities have a significant role in the ONC Health IT Certification Program, as they are critical for providing assurance that certified Complete EHRs and Health IT Modules function as intended in a production environment and do not present safety and/or public health risks.

As a requirement of certification, Complete EHRs and Health IT Modules certified under the Program are subject to surveillance activities. Surveillance is done to ensure that certified products and capabilities meet certification requirements, not just in a controlled testing environment, but also when they are used eventually in a clinic or hospital. Patient confidentiality is crucial, and there must be many layers of regulation to ensure the product is up to code.

All of that is to say that, if an EHR is not ONC-certified, practices can’t be certain that it is secure, functional or trustworthy. When choosing an ONC-certified solution, practices are choosing to provide unmatched peace of mind for physicians, patients, staff and more.

This peace of mind is even more critical in the modern healthcare landscape as pushed toward greater interoperability and technology implementation raise larger patient privacy concerns than ever before. With an ONC-certified EHR solution, practices can be confident in accessing new efficiencies, sharing key information, automating processes, and achieving better outcomes – all without putting patients at risk.

Looking Ahead

As healthcare continues to evolve, choosing an ONC-certified EHR solution will be more critical than ever for practices that want to remain agile and future-proof. The industry’s leading EHRs, such as ChartLogic’s suite of EHR solutions, promote readiness for any innovation and shift in the industry, not “good-enough-for-now” tools.

To learn more about ChartLogic’s suite of EHR solutions and how they could elevate your practice’s operations, visit our solutions page.