[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 203 (Friday, October 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 64343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25830]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Notice of Availability: Test Tools and Test Procedures Approved 
for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 
Technology (ONC) HIT Certification Program

AGENCY: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information 
Technology, Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human 
Services.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 300jj-11.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of test tools and test 
procedures approved by the National Coordinator for Health Information 
Technology (the National Coordinator) for the testing of EHR technology 
under the ONC HIT Certification Program to the 2011 Edition EHR 
certification criteria. The approved test tools and test procedures are 
identified on the ONC Web site at: http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/2011-edition-approved-test-methods.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Bean, Director, Office of 
Certification, Office of the National Coordinator for Health 
Information Technology, 202-690-7151.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 7, 2011, the Department of Health 
and Human Services issued a final rule establishing a permanent 
certification program for the purposes of testing and certifying health 
information technology (``Establishment of the Permanent Certification 
Program for Health Information Technology,'' 76 FR 1262) (Permanent 
Certification Program final rule).\1\ The permanent certification 
program was renamed the ``ONC HIT Certification Program'' in a final 
rule published on September 4, 2012 (77 FR 54163). The preamble of the 
Permanent Certification Program final rule stated that when the 
National Coordinator had approved test tools and/or test procedures ONC 
would publish a notice of availability in the Federal Register and 
identify the approved test tools and test procedures on the ONC Web 
site. As discussed in the Permanent Certification Program final rule, 
we anticipated that many of the test tools and test procedures that 
were developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
(NIST) and approved for use in the temporary certification program 
would be approved for use in performing the testing of EHR technology 
under the ONC HIT Certification Program, particularly when the adopted 
certification criteria to which the test tools and test procedures 
applied had not been revised.
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    \1\ The Department issued a proposed rule entitled ``Proposed 
Establishment of Certification Programs for Health Information 
Technology'' (75 FR 11328, March 10, 2010) that proposed the 
establishment of a temporary certification program and a permanent 
certification program and stated the Department's intentions to 
issue separate final rules for each program.
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    The National Coordinator has approved for use under the ONC HIT 
Certification Program the test tools and test procedures developed by 
NIST for testing EHR technology to the 2011 Edition EHR certification 
criteria. These approved test tools and test procedures are identified 
on the ONC Web site at: http://www.healthit.gov/policy-researchers-implementers/2011-edition-approved-test-methods.

    Dated: October 11, 2012.
Farzad Mostashari,
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2012-25830 Filed 10-18-12; 8:45 am]
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