Fort Worth, TX - November 2, 2009 Drummond Group Inc., the trusted interoperability test lab, announced today that it will submit to become a certifying body upon the release of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) requirements for certifying bodies for Electronic Health Records (EHR). Drummond Group has been approached recently by numerous EHR software and services companies that need to be certified.
"Clearly there is a growing demand for EHR certifications, says Rik Drummond, CEO of Drummond Group. "Drummond Group has been supporting Fortune 500 industries and government by certifying the transfer, identity and cybersecurity of their internet information flow over the last ten years. We have also done testing for the CDC, DEA and GSA. Certification of EHR is a natural extension of our testing program, and we believe we can provide great value for the medical community. We look forward to the publishing of the ONC requirements in the days ahead so we can get started."
As part of the ARRA stimulus package, medical providers will be able to receive financial incentives for being meaningful users of certified electronic health records. As the name indicates, EHR allows for medical and health records such as patient information or medical conditions diagnosed to be stored into electronic form so that they may be easily imported, exported and exchanged among medical and health providers.
ONC is currently working on the scope and definition of "meaningful use" for EHR, expected to be finalized in early 2010. Along with these new policies on meaningful use of EHRs, the ONC has announced plans to expand the number of EHR certification agencies to support the new initiative. Currently, the only approved EHR certification agency is the private non-profit CCHIT organization.
Drummond Group Inc. (DGI) is the trusted interoperability test lab which works with standards groups, software/firmware vendors and industry groups to drive adoption of standards by offering global interoperability and conformance testing, and certification. DGI facilitates these testing services under association-branded certification programs and its own Drummond Certified(R) program. Founded in 1999, DGI also represents best-of-breed in strategic interoperability consulting recognizing the challenges of interoperability for industry over the product life cycle.
For more information, visit http://www.drummondgroup.com/ [1].
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[1] http://www.drummondgroup.com/