Product Certification

In the ONC HIT Certification Program, certification and testing activities are performed by separate entities. Certification is completed by ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACBs) and testing is performed by Accredited Testing Laboratories (ATLs).

  1. Developers and Vendors first test their product with an ATL, and if their product meets the requirements,
  2. they work with an ONC-ACB to certify the product.
  3. Once the product is certified, it is submitted to ONC and ONC posts the product on the Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL).

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the ONC-Approved Accreditor (ONC-AA) for accrediting organizations to certify EHR technology under the ONC HIT Certification Program and become ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACBs). The National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) accredits testing laboratories, designating them as Accredited Testing Laboratories (ATLs) in the ONC HIT Certification Program.

Accredited Testing Laboratories (ATLs)

For the most up-to-date infromation on the Healthcare Information Technology (HIT) Laboratory Accreditation Program (LAP) visit NIST.

Certified Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) was founded in 2004, and certifying electronic health records (EHRs) since 2006, the Commission established the first comprehensive, practical definition of what capabilities were needed in these systems. CCHIT is based in Chicago IL.  Learn more about their certification program. Read CCHIT’s document on usage of their seal.
Drummond Group Inc. (DGI) is the trusted interoperability test lab offering global testing services through the product life cycle. Auditing, QA, conformance testing, custom software test lab services, software certification, web services testing, and consulting are offered in addition to interoperability testing. Founded in 1999, DGI has tested over a thousand international software products used in vertical industries such as automotive, consumer product goods, healthcare, energy, financial services, government, petroleum, pharmaceutical and retail. DGI is based in Austin TX. Learn more about the Drummond Group’s EHR testing services. Read Drummond’s document on usage of their seal.

InfoGard was founded in 1993 with a mission to provide accredited IT security assurance services to customers worldwide. InfoGard was the third approved ACTB and is based in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Learn about their EHR testing program.
ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon Business, has been providing credible, independent, 3rd party product assurance for end users and enterprises for the last 20 years. ICSA Labs has provided vendor-neutral testing and certification for hundreds of security products and solutions for many of the world’s top security product developers and service providers.ICSA Labs is located in Mechanicsburg PA. Learn more about their testing services.
SLI Global Solutions helps customers around the globe manage their technology risk and investment. An ISO 9001:2008 certified company, SLI’s industry-best people, process, technology, and customer service set the standard for excellence. SLI is headquartered in Denver CO.
Learn more about their testing solutions.

ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies (ONC-ACBs)

ANSI’s Accreditation Committee confirmed the following accreditations on July 10, the first to be announced as part of the ONC program:

  • Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT)
  • Drummond Group, Inc.
  • ICSA Laboratories, Inc.
  • InfoGard Laboratories, Inc.
  • Orion Register, Inc.

For our most updated information on certification read our Certification posts category.