Not surprisingly, interoperability was a big theme at this year’s Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell set the tone in her kick-off opening keynote address, announcing that a broad coalition of private sector stakeholders had signed onto commitments HHS believes will help advance nationwide interoperability.
HIMSS took the opportunity to announce its ConCert by HIMSS™ certification program, a comprehensive interoperability certification program governed by HIMSS and built upon the work of the EHR|HIE Interoperability Workgroup (IWG) and IHE USA. The NextGen Healthcare interoperability team assisted the HIMSS testing and certification body (ICSA Labs) prior to the general release of the testing program. In recognition for our successful certification prior to HIMSS16, NextGen Healthcare received the ConCert by HIMSS certification program award at the conference.
HIMSS states that ConCert by HIMSS certification “means a product is proven to be interoperable with other products.” Cerner was the only other EHR vendor to receive this certification award at HIMSS16. (More information on ConcertbyHIMSS can be found here.)
NextGen Healthcare also signed onto HIMSS’ interoperability pledge, committing to help consumers access their health information, follow federally recognized, national standards for interoperability, and refrain from what the government refers to as “data blocking”.
NextGen Healthcare recognizes interoperability as a key market demand and regulatory requirement and an essential component for improving the quality and affordability of care. The ConCert by HIMSS certification is important as an acknowledgement of our longstanding interoperability efforts and innovations, and, at the same time, gives NextGen Healthcare clients the confidence of knowing they have invested in a solution that meets the most rigorous standards and makes it easier than ever to connect and exchange data with other providers.
