EHR Certifications Pulled By ONC
By Megan Williams, contributing writer
Healthcare providers using EHR (electronic health records) software developed by Platinum Health Information Systems may have their Meaningful Use (MU) certification in jeopardy.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) announced on September 2, that two pieces of EHR software — both versions of SkyCare 4.2 — in the Platinum Health family have had their certification terminated. The company has had the certifications revoked because of failure to respond to requests for routine surveillance, which would have been performed by Infogard Laboratories. Infogard is the ONC Authorized Certification Body that first gave the MU imprimatur to both of the SkyCare tools.
According to Healthcare IT News, the SkyCare site is now inactive and multiple complaints about the electronic records products are listed on RipOffReport.com.
The Impact
The ONC reports that 48 eligible professionals have attested to Stage 1 MU with SkyCare technology, leaving those providers in need of a transition to new solutions if they plan on continuing in the MU program. They will be eligible to apply for a hardship exemption to avoid payment adjustments as they recover from their issues with SkyCare.
Karen DeSalvo weighed in: “We take our responsibility to provide appropriate oversight of certified EHR products seriously and have every expectation that users will have systems that meet the technological capabilities and requirements adopted by Health and Human Services and will take action accordingly.”
Previous Revocations
The first certifications were revoked in 2013 from EHRMagic-Ambulatory and EHRMagic-Inpatient, both under the umbrella of EHRMagic in Santa Fe Springs.
In the EHRMagic case, both ONC and InfoGard Laboratories had been notified that the products had failed to meet MU certification requirements and were incorrectly certified in the first place. InfoGard then reviewed additional information from the notification, contacted EHRMagic, and began surveillance activities. It was concluded that the products needed to be re-tested for certification, a process that the software subsequently failed.
Farzad Mostashari, national coordinator at the time issued a press statement, said, “We and our certification bodies take complaints and our follow-up seriously. By revoking the certification of these EHR products, we are making sure that certified electronic health record products meet the requirements to protect patients and providers. Because EHRMagic was unable to show that their EHR products met ONC’s certification requirements, their EHRs will no longer be certified under the ONC HIT Certification Program.”
Going Deeper
To read more on the future of EHR from the solutions provider perspective, click here.