The Certification Commission for Healthcare Technology (CCHIT) has finally decided to broaden it’s definition of a “qualified” Electronic Health Records system under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Up to this point, the definition essentially excluded systems that were not EHR-specific, even though many smaller practices did not see the need or have the resources for a complete EHR/EMR implementation. What this meant was that if a system did not meet CCHIT certification guidelines, the practice was unable to participate in the “incentive dollars” put on the table by the ARRA. In many cases, however, an electronic document management system like Laserfiche is a much more cost-effective and practical solution for the physicians. Not only can they realize an immediate ROI and the learning curve is much shorter, but the back office administration processes can be simplified greatly and revenue cycles can be shortened with a good document management system. The new certification is called EHR-S, for “site certification.” Essentially, this low-cost alternative allows facilities to self-develop or assemble an EHR system from noncertified sources. For many practices, simply augmenting their existing processes with an electronic document management system can be the bridge to satisfy the new certification.

To see more on the new CCHIT guidelines, click here.