WEDI and EHNAC Announce Intent to Accredit Practice Management System (PMS) Vendors
Orlando, FL (PRWEB) February 27, 2014 -- The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), in partnership with EHNAC, a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, today announced at the HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition their intent to create a Practice Management System Accreditation Program (PMSAP). The purpose of this joint partnership is to create a comprehensive review of Practice Management System (PMS) vendors in the areas of privacy, security, mandated standards and operating rules, and key operational functions. The PMSAP will assess health information and oversight for meeting privacy and security, HIPAA and ACA requirements, as well as focus on technical performance, business processes and resource management.
“Now, more than ever, practice management systems are a critical linchpin to the success of a physician’s practice and achieving their goals of driving down costs and improving quality through the use of systems,” said Devin Jopp, WEDI CEO. “Through this partnership, both WEDI and EHNAC hope to ensure that the industry maintains a common baseline that all PMS vendors will achieve.”
EHNAC Executive Director Lee Barrett echoed Jopp’s assessment: “Accreditation programs have proven to advance healthcare and improve competitive positioning for electronic health networks, health information exchanges and a variety of other stakeholders directly affected by healthcare legislation. But to date, PMS vendors have not had such a platform that allows them to demonstrate adherence to a higher standard of quality, privacy and security. WEDI was the ideal partner for us to finally address and support this important market sector.”
In an effort to reduce exposure and assist in compliance with healthcare reform mandates to all stakeholders utilizing a PMS vendor, having a comprehensive, third-party accreditation review and audit will provide a much higher level of assurance. Additionally, the accreditation will create a trustworthy framework with providers and their PMS vendors.
"Physician practices must have in place the appropriate software to both meet federal mandates and take full advantage of administrative simplification initiatives. We anticipate that accreditation of these practice management systems will be an invaluable tool that can assist our members in the product selection process, and then in optimizing their solutions to access meaningful data," said Susan L. Turney, MD, MS, FACP, FACMPE, MGMA president and chief executive officer.
PMS vendors perform various administrative and clinical functions on behalf of providers. It is projected that there are over four hundred PMS platforms serving the provider community. Currently, there is no third-party review of these vendors and their ability to meet these standards. A common goal of this effort is to help all stakeholders take full advantage of the various administrative simplification opportunities included in both HIPAA and the ACA.
About EHNAC
The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) is a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization (SDO) established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data. These entities include accountable care organizations, e-prescribing solution providers, electronic health networks, financial services firms, health information exchanges, health information service providers, medical billers, third-party administrators, management service organizations, outsourced service providers, payers, and EPCS vendors.
EHNAC was founded in 1993 and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. Guided by peer evaluation, the EHNAC accreditation process promotes quality service, innovation, cooperation and open competition in healthcare. To learn more, visit http://www.ehnac.org, contact info(at)ehnac(dot)org, or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
About WEDI
The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) is the leading authority on the use of Health IT to improve healthcare information exchange in order to enhance the quality of care, improve efficiency, and reduce costs of our nation’s healthcare system. WEDI was formed in 1991 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and was designated in the 1996 HIPAA legislation as an advisor to HHS. WEDI’s membership includes a broad coalition of organizations, including: hospitals, providers, health plans, vendors, government agencies, consumers, not-for-profit organizations, and standards bodies. To learn more, visit http://www.wedi.org.
Lindsey Dunn, WEDI, http://wedi.org/, +1 (202) 618-8792, [email protected]
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