CHICAGO -- The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) applauds the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) on the first-ever certified ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) products recently announced.

"Product certification is essential in advancing the national health information technology agenda. It reduces the risk of investment by healthcare providers and ensures interoperability of healthcare IT products with emerging local and national health information infrastructures," states Linda Kloss, MA, RHIA, AHIMA's CEO. "We commend CCHIT and the many stakeholders who provided input throughout the development of the certification criteria and testing processes."

AHIMA congratulates the following companies whose produces achieved CCHIT Certified status:

- Allscripts
- Cerner Corporation
- Companion Technologies
- eClinicalWorks, LLC
- Emdeon Practice Services
- e-MDS
- Epic Systems Corporation
- GE Healthcare
- JMJ Technologies, Inc.
- McKesson Corporation
- MCS-Medical Communication Systems, Inc.
- MedcomSoft Inc.
- Medical Informatics Engineering, Inc.
- Misys Healthcare Systems
- NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc.
- Nightingale Informatix Corp.
- Practice Partner

"These vendors should be commended for stepping forward to have their products
certified," adds Kloss. "Additionally, the industry should be encouraged to
know that there are EHR products available today that meet the criteria for
functionality, interoperability and security."

AHIMA joined forces in July 2004 with the Healthcare Information and Management
Systems Society (HIMSS) and The National Alliance for Health Information Technology (Alliance) to launch CCHIT as a voluntary, private-sector organization to certify health information technology products. For more information about CCHIT, visit www.cchit.org.

AHIMA is the premier association of health information management (HIM)
professionals. AHIMA's 50,000 members are dedicated to the effective management of personal health information needed to deliver quality health care to the public. Founded in 1928 to improve the quality of medical records, AHIMA is committed to advancing the HIM profession in an increasingly electronic and global environment through leadership in advocacy, education, certification, and lifelong learning. For more information about the Association, go to www.ahima.org.

More Voices