Sign up for our Health IT Newsletter
"*" indicates required fields
21st Century Cures Act Test Procedures Available
ONC’s 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule made several changes to the existing 2015 Edition Health IT certification criteria. The final rule introduced a small number of new certification criteria, revised some existing certification criteria, and removed several certification criteria. These changes constitute the 2015 Edition Cures Update.
ONC has finalized the 2015 Edition Cures Update Test Method. ONC is committed to providing stakeholders with as much information as possible to assist with planning for the effective date (6/30/2020) of the 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule. ONC has released the following test procedures:
2015 Edition Cures Update New Criteria
- § 170.315(b)(10) Electronic Health Information export
- § 170.315(d)(12) Encrypt authentication credentials
- § 170.315(d)(13) Multi-factor authentication
- § 170.315(g)(10) Standardized API for patient and population services
2015 Edition Cures Update Revised Criteria
- § 170.315(b)(1) Transitions of care *
- § 170.315(b)(2) Clinical information reconciliation and incorporation *
- § 170.315(b)(3) Electronic prescribing **
- § 170.315(b)(7) Security tags – summary of care – send *
- § 170.315(b)(8) Security tags – summary of care – receive *
- § 170.315(b)(9) Care plan *
- § 170.315(c)(3) Clinical quality measures (CQMs) – report
- § 170.315(e)(1) View, download, and transmit to 3rd party *
- § 170.315(g)(6) Consolidated CDA creation performance *
- § 170.315(g)(9) Application access – all data request *
Existing Criteria Not Part of Cures Update
- § 170.315(g)(1) Automated numerator recording
- § 170.315(g)(2) Automated measure calculation
- § 170.315(g)(3) Safety-enhanced design
*The ETT Message Validator: Cures Update C-CDA R2.1 Validator will be available on June 2nd
**The NCPDP tool will be available by Rule Effective Date (6/30/2020)
Please consult the Final Rule entitled: 21st Century Cures Act: Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program, for a detailed description of the certification criterion associated with these testing steps. Note: There will be a subsequent announcement before the effective date when the 2015 Edition Cures Update Certification Companion Guides (CCGs) are available.
Reminder: 2014 Edition Retirement as of June 30, 2020
A reminder the ONC Cures Act Final Rule retires the 2014 Edition from ONC’s Health IT Certification Program as of the effective date of the rule on June 30, 2020. This includes all 2014 Edition certification criteria and related standards, terms, and requirements, which will be removed from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Impacted health IT developers should work with their ONC-Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ACB) to formally retire the 2014 Edition certifications of their respective products. We also recommend that, to be helpful to their customers, developers should consider communicating with any clients still actively using these products about the retirement of the 2014 Edition. Additional guidance is forthcoming.
Please note, any developers who are only certified to the 2014 Edition and have not yet updated to the 2015 Edition prior to June 30, 2020, will also no longer be considered active under ONC’s Health IT Certification Program.
Questions may be directed to the ONC Health IT Certification Program via email at: ONC.Certification@hhs.gov