First Wave of MU Stage 2 (2014 Edition) Draft Test Procedures Released

If you’re in charge of getting your software ready for MU Stage 2, please be sure to keep a regular eye on the 2014 Edition Draft Test Procedures page on the ONC site. Here’s the overview:

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has posted the first wave of draft Test Procedures and applicable test data files for the 2014 Edition EHR certification criteria. The Test Procedures, once finalized and approved by the National Coordinator, will be used for testing and certifying EHR technology under the ONC HIT Certification Program (formerly referred to as the Permanent Certification Program or PCP). The Test Procedures are being developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

John Moehrke has some good comments about the first wave’s integrity problems on his blog.

What about timing? Jim Tate over at EMR Advocate has a great summary:

Applications for 2011 Edition certifications are allowed all the way through 2013…A vendor can apply for 2011 Edition certification after 10/04/2012 but they will pay a price. They will be exposed to new ONC certification requirements.

Basically, if you’re building software in the health IT world, you should be jumping into MU Stage 2 requirements in earnest now and start your programming engines as soon as possible.