ONC Seeks HIT Approved Accreditor Applications - February 24, 2011

On Feb. 8, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) published a notice in the Federal Register seeking applications from parties wishing to become the ONC-Approved Accreditor (ONC-AA) for the permanent Medicare and Medicaid health information technology (HIT) program. Last month, the ONC issued a final rule establishing a permanent HIT certification program and specifying that one ONC-AA would be selected to accredit organizations that wish to become ONC-authorized certification bodies (ONC-ACBs). ONC-ACBs in turn will certify complete electronic health record technology and/or modules. Requests for ONC-AAs status are due by March 10, 2011.