The Health Information Technology Policy Committee (HITPC) has been asked by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to explore the health information technology (health IT) needs of the long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) and behavioral health (BH) settings. In most cases, providers in these settings are not eligible to receive funding from the Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive (Meaningful Use) Programs.
The Certification and Adoption Workgroup is leading this charge on behalf of the HITPC and has developed a draft set of voluntary certification criteria focused on interoperability, privacy and security, and modularity that will improve providers’ access to the functionality they need from their electronic health records (EHRs).
Your Feedback is Requested!
The Workgroup is seeking public comment on the proposed voluntary certification criteria in two ways:
- For this listening session, we are asking that participants interested in testifying on Thursday, May 22nd sign up in advance to share their feedback. As always, the public can listen and participate in this session online.
- Respond to this blog by 11:59pm on May 22nd using this public comment template to be emailed to onc.request@hhs.gov.
Many of the voluntary certification criteria align with the ONC 2014 Edition Standards and Certification Criteria Final Rule. A detailed reference document to the ONC 2014 Edition Standards and Certification Criteria is also provided.
Background
Through a series of meetings— including two hearings featuring more than 40 testifiers, and presentations by a myriad of experts— we have immersed ourselves in understanding the health IT challenges and needs of LTPAC and BH. For example, experts noted in 2007, 43 percent of home health agencies and hospices adopted uncertified EHRs. 
In 2004, the same percentage (43 percent) of nursing homes reported they adopted EHRs and systems varied wildly and were generally not interoperable. A more recent report from 2012 found that community mental health centers had an EHR adoption rate of 21 percent .
Though these settings have different needs, there are many characteristics that are shared by LTPAC and BH providers. For both settings, stakeholders have shared their frustration regarding the lack of reliable, interoperable systems. Stakeholders also shared their thoughts on how to ensure that a voluntary certification initiative does not stifle innovation, is useful to both the patient and the provider, and is right-sized to provide needed functionality while keeping costs down.
How the Voluntary EHR Certification Criteria are Grouped
The certification criteria are divided into three categories— All Providers, LTPAC/BH Setting Specific, and Some Providers. The All Providers category refers to certification criteria the workgroup has identified as being applicable to all provider types (e.g., hospitals, primary care, specialists, LTPAC and BH), the LTPAC /BH Setting Specific category refers to criteria relevant to named care settings, and the Some Providers category references criteria that may be relevant to LTPAC or BH providers depending on the scope and needs of the practice.
