ehr onc final certification - Department of Health Care Services
ehr onc final certification - Department of Health Care Services
ehr onc final certification - Department of Health Care Services
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seeking and will enable Complete EHR and EHR Module developers to focus their<br />
efforts on a more specific implementation <strong>of</strong> the HL7 2.5.1 standard. We do not believe<br />
that a suitable implementation specification for HL7 2.3.1 exists for the purpose <strong>of</strong> public<br />
health surveillance and reporting.<br />
Comments. Multiple commenters stated c<strong>onc</strong>erns that the Federal government<br />
and state governments, as well as other public health agencies, do not have the capability<br />
to receive information electronically in a standardized format. One commenter stated<br />
that while they supported using the HL7 standards, some agencies are only able to accept<br />
public health submissions if they have an HL7-based feed. Several commenters<br />
suggested that the public health reporting requirement be delayed until a single, national<br />
standard exists. One commenter stated that requiring EHRs to “electronically record,<br />
retrieve, and transmit syndrome-based public health surveillance information to public<br />
health agencies” is a worthwhile future goal, but they strongly questioned the likelihood<br />
that it could be accomplished within the 2011-2012 timeframe. The commenter also<br />
noted that the <strong>certification</strong> criterion did not specify which agencies (local, state, Federal)<br />
are included, and that most <strong>of</strong> those agencies are not prepared to receive biosurveillance<br />
data electronically in the format specified. The commenter c<strong>onc</strong>luded that it would be<br />
difficult for any EHR to prove compliance with the <strong>certification</strong> criterion as written and<br />
recommended the following alternative: “Electronically record, retrieve, and be capable<br />
<strong>of</strong> producing an electronic message containing syndrome-based public health surveillance<br />
information in accordance with one <strong>of</strong> the standards specified in §170.205(g).”<br />
Response. We recognize that some public health agencies do not yet have the<br />
capability <strong>of</strong> electronically receiving information. We do not believe that this should<br />
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