T-System Earns Preliminary ARRA Certification

Indicates T SystemEV’s preparation to support “meaningful use”

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- With hospitals looking for ways to fund their investment in electronic health records, T-System, Inc., the industry leader in clinical, business and IT solutions for the emergency department, is staying ahead of the curve. T-System today announced that T SystemEV, its emergency department information system, has been inspected by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) and is certified electronic health record (EHR) technology, IFR Stage 1, meeting 9 of 22 requirements for Hospitals and 10 of 24 requirements for Eligible Providers published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Interim Final Rule. Inspection information is available at http://www.cchit.org/productsearch. For the purpose of qualifying products for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) incentives, CCHIT anticipates, but has not yet received, accreditation by HHS.

T SystemEV passed every EHR module for which it applied, showing that T-System is preparing to support users to receive “meaningful use” reimbursement under ARRA. To date, T SystemEV is the only EDIS to receive preliminary modular EHR certification both in the Hospital and Eligible Provider categories.

“Health care is changing and T-System is helping set the pace,” said John Trzeciak, T-System CEO. “That’s why we decided to pursue preliminary certification. It’s something our customers view as a critically important step toward securing ARRA reimbursement for their IT investments.”

The Preliminary ARRA IFR Stage 1 certification program, operated by CCHIT, inspects EHR technology against federal criteria and standards developed by the HHS and published on January 13, 2010. It is offered now to allow eligible providers and hospitals time to qualify for incentive funding under the ARRA. The program is designed to demonstrate that a vendor’s product is well prepared to be certified once Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) accredited testing and certification becomes available. The final criteria and test procedures are not yet available, nor has CCHIT been accredited yet by ONC. When those events occur, CCHIT will replace the Preliminary ARRA program with a final, ONC-accredited ARRA certification program, and health IT companies will have an opportunity to complete final certification.

The Preliminary ARRA IFR Stage 1 criteria and standards used by CCHIT for EHR technology inspection were published by the HHS as an Interim Final Rule as an Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria for Electronic Health Record Technology. The IFR took effect on February 12, 2010.

For additional details, please reference T-System’s full reports online:

Hospital: http://www.cchit.org/products/ifrstage1/arrahospital/2108;

Eligible Provider: http://www.cchit.org/products/ifrstage1/arraeligibleprovider/2107.

About T-System

T-System, Inc. sets the industry standard for clinical, business and IT solutions for emergency departments, with approximately 40% of the nation’s emergency departments using T-System’s products. Established in Dallas, Texas in 1996, T-System was founded by two emergency department physicians who understand the challenges of working in such a fast-paced, and often chaotic, environment. To meet the individual needs of hospitals, T-System offers both a paper template and emergency department information system (EDIS). These tools help clinicians quickly see information so they can provide better patient care, while improving efficiency and the bottom line. Today, more than 1,800 civilian and military emergency departments in the United States, Puerto Rico and Australia rely on T-System’s documentation tools.

About CCHIT

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology. The Commission has been certifying electronic health record technology since 2006. More information on CCHIT, CCHIT Certified® products and certified Preliminary ARRA electronic health record technology is available at http://cchit.org and http://ehrdecisions.com.

“CCHIT®” and “CCHIT Certified®” are registered marks of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.



CONTACT:

T-System
Joe Lastinger, 469-791-5519
[email protected]
or
CRT/tanaka for T-System
Jenn Riggle, 757-640-1982, ext. 25
[email protected]

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Texas

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Technology  Data Management  Software  Health  Hospitals  General Health

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