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ehr onc final certification - Department of Health Care Services

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EHR technology with the needs <strong>of</strong> users <strong>of</strong> assistive technology in mind, and remind<br />

eligible pr<strong>of</strong>essionals and eligible hospitals who seek to adopt Certified EHR Technology<br />

to review and comply with applicable legal obligations regarding accessibility. Among<br />

the ways <strong>of</strong> designing certain capabilities with accessibility in mind, we would encourage<br />

Complete EHR and EHR Module developers to consider implementing, for example, the<br />

WCAG 2.0 8 when providing web-oriented content so that it is more accessible to persons<br />

with disabilities. We expect the HIT Standards Committee to identify accessibility-<br />

oriented standards 9 when it issues recommendations regarding the standards that the<br />

Secretary should adopt in future years.<br />

Comments. Several commenters made recommendations related to standards that<br />

we could adopt to support future stages <strong>of</strong> meaningful use. Other commenters expressed<br />

c<strong>onc</strong>erns related to the “candidate Stage 2 standards” that we referenced in the Interim<br />

Final Rule. Finally, commenters requested that Certified EHR Technology include<br />

specific capabilities that had no relationship to meaningful use.<br />

Response. We have reviewed these comments and appreciate the forethought<br />

provided by commenters. Given that these suggestions were not germane to the policies<br />

associated with the Interim Final Rule we have not considered them for the purposes <strong>of</strong><br />

promulgating this <strong>final</strong> rule.<br />

F. Comments Beyond the Scope <strong>of</strong> this Final Rule<br />

8 http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/<br />

9 As previously mentioned, there are several accessibility standards for electronic and information<br />

technology currently in use. For example, Section 508 <strong>of</strong> the Rehabilitation Act requires Federal agencies<br />

to ensure that electronic and information technology that they develop, procure, maintain, or use is<br />

accessible to persons with disabilities and authorizes the Architectural and Transportation Barriers<br />

Compliance Board (Access Board) to promulgate standards setting forth the technical and functional<br />

performance criteria necessary to implement the requirements <strong>of</strong> Section 508. Information regarding the<br />

Electronic and Information Technology Standards can be found on the Access Board’s website at<br />

http://www.access-board.gov/508.htm.<br />

Page 185 <strong>of</strong> 228

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