EHNAC’s HIE Accreditation Criteria to Begin Public Review

Standards development organization announces crucial step toward developing a health information exchange accreditation program

FARMINGTON, Conn. – February 22, 2010 – The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, today announced the 60-day public review (February 22, 2010 – April 23, 2010) of key criteria components for its health information exchange (HIE) accreditation program, with the support of more than 70 stakeholders nationwide. Those interested in participating in this phase of the public review may visit the criteria page on the EHNAC Web site.

A separate set of policies more specifically addressing privacy and security are still being developed by an EHNAC convened HIE Advisory Board. EHNAC anticipates these policies will be available for public review during the second quarter of this year. EHNAC also expects to invite public comment on these policies and will make them available on its Web site for approximately 60 days. All comments and feedback will be reviewed from the public comment period and additional revisions will be incorporated into the final criteria version 1.0, tentatively scheduled for release this summer.

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 includes an unprecedented amount of funding for expanding the use of health information technology. EHNAC is well suited to provide the industry with assurances through its accreditation program that organizations exchanging electronic health information are exceeding industry standards related to privacy and security of personal health information,” said Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC. “The industry is waiting for federal guidance in many areas; however, EHNAC has taken the lead in bringing together key stakeholder groups to address critical policy and safeguards around exchanging patient information electronically. We anticipate that EHNAC’s accreditation model will be useful to the industry as it moves forward to adopt health information technology and scalable to serve data sharing organizations, their governing bodies, participants and consumers.”

EHNAC’s HIE accreditation program is well suited for clinical data sharing organizations that are looking to ensure that the highest levels of protection are in place for electronic health information. The HIE accreditation program will assess privacy policies, security measures, technical performance, business practices and organizational resources of entities that seek accreditation.

Several states that are in the process of implementing an HIE have already indicated their interest in adopting EHNAC’s HIE accreditation program criteria as a foundation for similar accreditation programs in those states. EHNAC continues to seek additional beta candidates for its HIE accreditation program and encourages interested parties to monitor the development progress of this program and other initiatives on the EHNAC Web site.

About EHNAC

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) is a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization (SDO) established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data. These entities include electronic health networks, payers, financial services firms and e-prescribing solution providers.

EHNAC was founded in 1993 and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. Guided by peer evaluation, the EHNAC accreditation process promotes quality service, innovation, cooperation and open competition in healthcare. To learn more, visit www.ehnac.org or contact info@ehnac.org.