EHNAC Honors Two With Inaugural Practice Management System Accreditation
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Accreditation is based on key performance standards of quality, privacy and security, as well as PMS vendor ICD-10 readiness.
The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body for organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data, announced the inaugural recipients of its new Practice Management System Accreditation Program (PMSAP). The accreditation – based on key performance standards of quality, privacy, and security, in addition to PMS vendor ICD-10 readiness – was bestowed upon GE Healthcare and NextGen Healthcare.
Developed in conjunction with the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), PMSAP has functions as a third-party review to provide “an additional level of assurance to the provider community during the evaluation process of PMS system vendors,” according to the press release.
GE Healthcare and NextGen Healthcare served as beta testers for the process, and were the first to submit to evaluation of their compliance with the criteria and receive full accreditation status. The accreditation is good for two years.
“As beta organizations for the PMS accreditation program, GE Healthcare and NextGen Healthcare’s collaboration and feedback have been vital components in the development of an industry-changing initiative,” Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC, said in the release. “The need to maintain high standards of privacy, security and confidentiality as a practice management system vendor is critical, to say the least. These organizations understand the value behind provider assurance in the quality and integrity of the companies with whom they entrust their data. We congratulate them both on their accreditation achievements.”
EHNAC accreditation recognizes excellence in health data processing and transactions, and confirms compliance with industry-established standards and HIPAA regulations. The organization does not accredit specific information systems, but the ability of vendors to comply with criteria encompassing business operations, financial processes and resources, technical performance, HIPAA privacy/security/transactions compliance, CORE operating rules, and readiness to support ICD-10.
“As healthcare and its payment system becomes more complex, it is essential that providers rely on systems and solutions they can trust,” Jon Zimmerman, vice president and general manager, Clinical Business Solutions at GE Healthcare, said in the release. “In collaboration with the leadership of EHNAC and WEDI, we have taken another big step forward toward providing standards based solutions that providers can use with confidence to run their businesses. This is another demonstration of our commitment to our customers to provide leading solutions in uncertain times.”
“Building trust in the healthcare community is essential to moving healthcare forward and through our collaborative efforts with EHNAC, we are at the forefront of providing the necessary security and trust assurances to enable more secure, efficient and effective healthcare delivery,” Michael Lovett, executive vice president and general manager for NextGen Healthcare, explained in the release. “Being the first to achieve EHNAC accreditation underscores our commitment to ensuring that client and patient privacy is a top priority.”