Certification of Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology involves several stakeholders, including: Eligible Professionals (EPs) and Eligible Hospitals (EHs), Developers and Vendors, Certification Bodies and Testing Laboratories,  and Patients and the General Public.

In the ONC HIT Certification Program (formerly known as the Permanent Certification Program), Developers and Vendors create EHR products that meet the standards and certification criteria adopted by the HHS Secretary. These products are tested by Accredited Testing Laboratories (ATLs) and certified by ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACBs).Once the EHR product has been certified by an ONC-ACB, the ONC-ACB submits the product to ONC to be posted on the Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL). EPs and EHs search for Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT) on the CHPL to use to meet Meaningful Use (MU) objectives and measures.

In the Temporary Certification Program (TCP), Developers and Vendors created EHR products to meet the standards and certification criteria adopted by the HHS Secretary. ONC had an application process for entities to apply to test and certify EHR products based on the standards and certification criteria in the Temporary Certification Program. Upon application approval, these entities were authorized by ONC to test and certify EHR products—they are known as ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ONC-ATCBs). Once the EHR product was certified by an ONC-ATCB, the ONC-ATCB submitted the product to ONC to be posted on the Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL). EPs and EHs searched for Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT) on the CHPL to use to meet Meaningful Use (MU) objectives and measures. Following the Temporary Certification Program sunset on October 4, 2012, ONC-ATCBs have six months to complete testing and certification of all products already in the testing pipeline.

For additional information on what certification of EHR technology means for you, please visit the webpages listed below. To learn more about how the Certification Program operates, visit the About Certification webpage.

Eligible Professionals (EPs) & Eligible Hospitals (EHs) – Use CEHRT to meet MU requirements to qualify for incentive payments under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
Developers & Vendors – Create EHR products to be tested and certified. In the ONC HIT Certification Program, Developers and Vendors first test their products with an Accredited Testing Laboratory (ATL). If their product meets the requirements, they work with an ONC-Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ACB) to certify the product. In the TCP, they worked with ONC-ATCBs to test and certify their products
Certification Bodies & Testing Laboratories – Test and certify products against the standards and certification criteria to provide assurance and maintain quality and consistency across certified products. In the ONC HIT Certification Program, ATLs conduct testing and ONC-ACBs certify the tested products. In the TCP, testing and certification were conducted by ONC-ATCBs.
Patients & General Public – EHRs make it possible for patients and their doctors to manage their care through secure use and sharing of health information. With EHRs, doctors have more accurate and complete information about an individual’s health, enabling them to provide patients with the best possible care.