As the accreditor selected by the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) to oversee the Permanent Certification Program for Health Information Technology, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) announced Thursday it's open for business.
The ONC program was established by regulation in a final rule published in the Federal Register on Jan. 7.
"ANSI is pleased to confirm this new scope of accreditation and call for applications from bodies that certify HIT products for electronic health records," said Lane Hallenbeck, ANSI vice president for accreditation services. "We appreciate and respect the ONC's trust in the value and integrity of ANSI accreditation, and are committed to build on the record of confidence established via public-private partnerships with many other government agencies relying on ANSI accreditation."
Accreditations, the first of which are expected in 2012, will be granted based on the assessment of certification body competence in accordance with ONC and ANSI requirements, including demonstrated compliance with:
- ISO/IEC Guide 65 – General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems
- IAF Guidance on the application of ISO/IEC Guide 65
- ANSI Policy – PL - 102 – Manual of Operations for Accreditation of Product Certification Programs
- 45 CFR Part 170 – Health Information Technology Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria and Certification Programs for Health Information Technology
ANSI will be accepting applications for the initial accreditation program through Oct. 7, 2011. To obtain an application, contact ANSI's Reinaldo Figueiredo (rfigueir@ansi.org; 202-331-3611) or Nikki Jackson (njacksonansi.org; 202-331-3623).
ANSI's portfolio of accreditation services includes programs for all types of certification and verification bodies, including those for products, personnel, greenhouse gas emissions, as well as standards developers. For more information, visit ansi.org/accreditation.
