HIMSS Electronic Health Record Vendors Association (EHRVA) Congratulates CCHIT Vendor Commissioners

EHRVA also Welcomes Kolodner as Interim Healthcare IT Chief

(CHICAGO) October 24, 2006 – HIMSSEHRVA is proud to recognize all of the newly appointed CCHIT (Certification Commission for Healthcare IT) commissioners, with a special acknowledgment of the vendor representatives, all of which are from EHRVA member companies and were supported through recommendations by the vendors’ society.

The new commissioners representing EHR vendors are: Richard Atkin, president, Misys Healthcare Systems Hospital Systems Business Unit; and Don Rucker, MD, vice president and chief medical officer, Siemens Medical Solutions.  In addition, Andrew G. Ury, MD, chief executive officer, Practice Partner, Inc. and EHRVA vice-chair, was re-appointed to a two year term.

The commission, formed in September 2004, successfully developed and launched a program in May 2006 to certify ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) vendor applications in the U.S. The commissioners are working on future certification criteria for 2007, 2008, and beyond and are preparing to certify inpatient EHRs as well.

“We are proud of the contributions EHRVA has made to CCHIT, because we as vendors support certification,” noted Charlene Underwood, EHRVA chairperson and director, Government & Industry Relations for Siemens Medical Solutions.  “The nomination and selection of EHRVA member organizations further demonstrates the dedication the vendor community has not only to certification, but also to transparency, interoperability and standards,” she continued.

In addition to her leadership of EHRVA throughout stages of CCHIT response, Underwood is also serving American Health Information Community (AHIC) goals through her appointment to the Community’s recently added Work Group on Quality Issues.

Another industry milestone is the appointment of Robert M. Kolodner, M.D., as the interim National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, assuming the position former chief David J. Brailer, M.D. resigned in May.  EHRVA congratulates and welcomes Dr. Kolodner to this important post.

About HIMSS EHRVA

HIMSS Electronic Health Record Vendors Association (EHRVA) is a trade association of EHR vendors that joined together to lead the HIT industry in the accelerated adoption of electronic health records in hospital and ambulatory care settings in the US. Representing an estimated 90% of the installed EHR systems in the US, the association provides a forum for the vendor community to speak with a unified voice relative to standards development, the EHR certification process, interoperability, performance and quality measures, and other EHR issues as they become subject to increasing government, insurance and provider driven initiatives and requests. Membership is open to HIMSS corporate members with legally formed companies designing, developing and marketing their own commercially available EHRs with installations in the USA. The association, comprised of approximately 43 member companies, is a partner of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and operates as an organizational unit within HIMSS. For more information, visit http://www.himssehrva.org