Following the publication of the ONC's 2015 Edition final rule, Steven Posnack, director for the Office of Standards and Technology, announced what to expect next.
"This milestone kicks off the next phase our work to implement the 2015 Edition's regulatory requirements," Mr. Posnack wrote in a blog post on Health IT Buzz. Starting next week and over the next few weeks, ONC will be releasing two types of documents to immediately help jumpstart health IT development efforts to the 2015 Edition."
The first set of documents, "Certification Companion Guides," are designed to help IT developers interpret the ONC's regulatory require more quickly and build them into products effectively. Going forward there will be a Certification Companion Guide for each certification criterion that contains all of the necessary information in one place, including requirements, regulatory history and any subsequent clarifications.
"The second set of documents includes 2015 Edition Test Procedures for each certification criterion, which will be published for stakeholder feedback and a 30-day comment period," Mr. Posnack wrote. "We intend to publish test procedures for comment at the same time as their associated CCG is published."
In the coming weeks, the National Institute of Standards and Technology will begin to publish "alpha" versions of 2015 Edition tools for pilot testing and feedback. Additionally, the ONC will continue to work with the authorized certification bodies and accreditors to conduct trainings on new regulatory requirements, he wrote.