EHR Selection Guidelines

NEW:  Electronic Health Records: Selection Guidelines for Health Centers, updated for 2011

NEW!  Electronic Health Records: Selection Guidelines for Health Centers, updated July, 2010
In consultation with health center clinicians, Chief Medical Officers (CMOs), Chief Medical Informatics Officers (CMIOs), HRSA staff, and health information technology (HIT) experts, the Electronic Health Records: Selection Guidelines for Health Centers have been fully reviewed and updated as of July, 2010.

 2011 EHR Guidelines for Healthcenters(Word - 839KB)

Highlights of the newly updated version include:
• Updated to reflect requirements of the Meaningful Use (CMS’ Final Rule for the Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs)
• Added column to help identify specifications that will relate to Meaningful Use.
• New section on Behavioral Health
• New section on Oral Health EHR Coordination for Health Centers who wish to integrate EHR and Dental Health Record

Electronic Health Records: Selection Guidelines for Health Centers (The Guidelines) is a tool designed to help health centers evaluate electronic health record (EHR) products and develop requests for proposals (RFP) or requests for information (RFI).

The downloadable Word document, written in RFI format, enables health centers to gather detailed information from EHR vendors about their products.

The Guidelines

• Borrow from the Health Level 7 (HL7) EHR functional model, the industry standard,
• Were developed in consultation with HIT staffers and clinicians from health centers, and
• Are tailored for health centers.

How to Use EHR Selection Guidelines 

• Add to or subtract from the relatively comprehensive list of features in the Guidelines to make sure the EHR you select meets your needs.
• Gather detailed information from vendors as you consider EHR products.
• Specify EHR needs to vendors as part of an RFP. Products will meet the guidelines to varying degrees.
• Evaluate vendor proposals and products to make informed purchasing decisions.

In addition, you should verify that products you consider purchasing are also certified by an appropriate organization selected by The National Office of the Coordinator (ONC) as an ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ATCB), such as the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT).  For more information, you may access ONC’s website at http://healthit.hhs.gov.  The organizations selected by ONC have been authorized to perform Complete EHR and/or EHR Module testing and certification. These ONC-ATCBs are required to test and certify EHRs to the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary under subpart C of Part 170 Part II and Part III as stipulated in the Standards and Certification Criteria Final Rule.  Certification of an EHR product by an ATCB will signify to eligible professionals, hospitals, and critical access hospitals that an EHR technology has the capabilities necessary to support their efforts to meet the goals and objectives of meaningful use. Please keep in mind, however, that this Guideline is meant to go beyond the features and criteria necessary to achieve meaningful use (MU). In addition, the Guidelines address the specific needs of health centers and complement, but do not replace certification.

Feedback
The guidelines are a living document and will be updated periodically as the environment changes. Do you have comments or questions about the guideline? Have you used them? Email us to let us know your experience.