Accreditor for ONC Health IT Certification Program approved for second term

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has approved the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for a second three-year term as the ONC-Approved Accreditor (ONC-AA) for the ONC Health Information Technology Certification Program. 

ONC certifies electronic health record (EHR) technology products to ensure they meet the standards to improve health care quality, safety, and efficiency through the promotion of health information technology and electronic health information exchange.

EHR products that have been successfully tested by a National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program Accredited Testing Laboratory are certified under this program. The ONC-AA accredits the certification bodies that seek to serve as ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACBs) under this program and ensures that they continue to meet requirements necessary to maintain accreditation. 

ANSI was approved as the ONC-AA after a competitive process that included an evaluation against a specific set of requirements. The requirements include conformance to ISO/IEC 17011 (General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies), and s experience evaluating conformance of certification bodies to ISO Guide 65 (General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems). 

ONC’s goal is to give assurance to EHR developers, users, and the general public that certified products meet and maintain the functionalities required for certification. 

###

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other news materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Like HHS on Facebook , follow HHS on Twitter @HHSgov , and sign up for HHS Email Updates.

Follow HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Twitter @Sebelius .

Last revised: May 13, 2014