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Certification of electronic health records under Stage 2 of meaningful use, a process being called the 2014 Edition, includes a couple provisions to bring more transparency to vendor pricing and what certification really means.

“The final rule requires that ONC-ACBs (authorized certification bodies) submit a hyperlink of the test results used to issue a certification to a Complete EHR or EHR Module,” according to a fact sheet from the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT. “This transparency requirement enables providers to access the test results used to certify EHR technology and provides a starting point from which to assess any implementation issues associated with certified Complete EHRs and certified EHR Modules. Test results will be made publicly available on ONC’s Certified HIT Products List (CHPL) along with all of the other information ONC-ABCs report to ONC.”

For your consideration: First look at the final Stage 2 rules for providers

The rule also requires certification bodies to ensure vendors notify providers about additional types of costs--such as one-time, ongoing or both--that affect the total cost of ownership of an EHR or module for purposes of achieving meaningful use.

The full fact sheet is available here.