UPDATE: HHS just announced via its Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) that a third certifying group has been approved. InfoGard Laboratories, Inc. is the lucky winner, and it's based in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Stay tuned to the Part B News Blog for details Monday.
CMS recently greenlit two groups -- the non-profit Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) and the for-profit Drummond Group Inc. -- to certify electronic health record (EHR) systems. Only certified systems have the features needed to meet meaningful use, and earn providers up to $44,000 apiece in federal incentive money.
Both groups recently posted PDFs listing their fees and methodology for testing and certifying EHRs, and the figures are pretty steep. These details are helpful for groups and hospitals considering on-site modular certification of their existing health information technology (HIT) tools that may provide meaningful use functions.
Here's a few examples of the pricing:
- Complete inpatient EHR certification. $49,000 for CCHIT, $23,500 for Drummond
- Complete Ambulatory EHR certification. $37,000 for CCHIT, $23,500 for Drummond
- Modular certification -- listed for inpatient EHRs only. This runs between $11,000 and $16,000 depending on the number of modules being certified, according to Drummond. CCHIT doesn't list general prices for modules, only prices for very specific ones, such as "ambulatory add-on," which costs $8,000-$9,000.
NOTE: CCHIT's price is much higher because the certification process it uses goes
beyond the basic meaningful use requirements. CCHIT actually will offer both it's own "CCHIT-certified" program (which is what's priced here) and its version of basic HHS/CMS meaningful use certification, which will be cheaper. You'll find a full discussion of what the differences are, as well as Drummond's plans for its own programs, by
reading our previous coverage on CCHIT and Drummond certification programs.