Ambulatory EHRs are designed for physician offices and clinics where most Americans get their healthcare. The Commission - a private, nonprofit organization - is the Recognized Certification Body in the United States for certifying health information technology products. Certification of Electronic Health Records is expected to be a key part of the plans now under development in Congress and within the incoming Obama Administration to encourage more physicians to adopt the technology.

"Two key new areas of interoperability are required to achieve 08 certification," said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., chair, CCHIT. "First, ambulatory EHRs must be capable of advanced electronic prescribing functions so physicians can qualify for bonuses under Medicare's new incentive program. Second, EHRs must be able to send and receive an electronic patient summary. These and other new criteria will ensure that certified health IT products help improve quality, safety and efficiency while protecting the privacy of health information."

Allscripts Chief Executive Officer Glen Tullman, a member of the CCHIT Board of Trustees, commented, "We appreciate the fine work that CCHIT is doing to ensure that electronic health records adhere to rigorous, industry-accepted standards as the government continues to lead and encourage the widespread adoption of this life-saving technology. We're also excited that CCHIT has adopted new standards that focus on the interoperability, security and ease of use of electronic health records because these areas are also key parts of our efforts to make healthcare better."

In the third year of the program's operation, the criteria and testing have been significantly updated again to provide physicians with more assurance that certified products will meet their needs for functionality, interoperability and security. The Commission added 19 criteria to the 200 required in 2007. Those changes were focused on the ability to exchange patient information with other systems. A CCHIT Certified 08 Ambulatory EHR ensures:

• Additional electronic prescribing features: access to the patient's medication history, formulary, and eligibility.
• Better and safer medication dosing, adjusted for patient weight and other factors.
• Better ability to prevent adverse reactions due to drug interactions or allergies.
• Use of standard formats to exchange basic patient information for continuity of care.
• Enhanced ability to view X-rays and other diagnostic images.
• Better management of patient consents and authorizations.
• Increased use of standard formats when receiving and storing laboratory results.

As a CCHIT Certified product, Allscripts Professional Electronic Health Record Version 8.2 has been tested and passed inspection of 100 percent of these new criteria. Certification by CCHIT, originally effective for three years, is now effective for two years from the date of certification.

To qualify for the Child Health certification, which is new this year, Allscripts Professional Electronic Health Record Version 8.2 had to meet CCHIT criteria specific to the needs of pediatricians and family physicians, such as the ability to capture vital signs as discrete elements of structured data and use age-specific and/or height-specific normative data for a vital sign.

"Kids are not just little adults - physicians who care for them have special needs and Allscripts has the right tool in Professional EHR to meet those needs," said Mark Richardson, MD, a partner in Holt Family Practice, a four-physician group in Lansing Michigan. "Whether it's the dosage calculator that helps you prescribe the appropriate medication based on the child's weight, or ensuring proper immunization and then automatically feeding it into our state immunization registry, the EHR is a huge help in delivering the highest quality care for children."

The CCHIT Certified "seal of approval" for EHR products provides a consensus-based, government-recognized benchmark for ambulatory EHR products. By looking to products with the CCHIT Certified seal, physicians and other providers can reduce their risk in selecting an EHR product, allowing them to focus their evaluation on the special needs of their practices.

About CCHIT
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT(R)) is a private, nonprofit organization that has been named by the federal government as the Recognized Certification Body for health information technology. Its mission is to accelerate the adoption of health information technology by creating a credible, sustainable certification program. The certification requirements are based on widely accepted industry standards and involve the work of hundreds of expert volunteers and input from a variety of stakeholders throughout the health care industry. More information on CCHIT and CCHIT Certified(R) products is available at http://www.cchit.org and at http://www.ehrdecisions.com.

"CCHIT(R)" and "CCHIT Certified(R)" are registered marks of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.

About Allscripts
Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) uses innovation technology to bring health to healthcare. More than 150,000 physicians, 700 hospitals and nearly 7,000 post-acute and homecare organizations utilize Allscripts to improve the health of their patients and their bottom line. The company's award-winning solutions include electronic health records, electronic prescribing, revenue cycle management, practice management, document management, medication services, hospital care management, emergency department information systems and homecare automation. Allscripts is the brand name of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. To learn more, visit http://www.allscripts.com.