Origin Healthcare Solutions' Connecticut Operating center, SSIMED's EMRge Receives 2007 CCHIT Certification

November 21, 2008 – The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT®) today announced that Origin Healthcare Solutions' Connecticut Operating center, SSIMED’s product EMRge Version 7 is CCHIT Certified®, and meets the Commission’s ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) criteria for 2007. Ambulatory EHRs are designed for physician offices and clinics where most Americans get their healthcare. CCHIT – an independent, nonprofit organization – is the Recognized Certification Body in the United States for certifying health information technology products.

In the second year of the program’s operation, the criteria and testing have been significantly enhanced. The Commission added 96 criteria to the 151 original requirements from last year. As a CCHIT Certified product, SSIMED EMRge has been tested and passed inspection of 100 percent of a set of updated criteria for functionality, interoperability and security.

“For 2007, the Commission raised the bar from the previous year’s criteria. Ambulatory EHRs now must include electronic prescribing, demonstrate an ability to receive lab results, and show enhanced patient safety, quality, and security features,” said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., chair, CCHIT. “Investment in 2007 certified ambulatory EHRs gives providers even more powerful tools to improve quality, safety and efficiency while protecting the privacy of health information.”

The CCHIT Certified mark — a “seal of approval” for EHR products — provides the first 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.

“SSIMED is proud to have earned the CCHIT certification for the second year,” said Frank Perrotta Jr, CIO and Executive Vice President of SSIMED. “The latest version of EMRge is the result of working closely with physicians for over 17 years developing software and services to fit their needs. “

CCHIT’s certification compliance criteria and its design for a certification inspection process have been thoroughly researched, taking into account the state of the art of EHRs and available standards, and comparing certification processes in other industries and other countries. The inspection process is based on real-life medical scenarios designed to test products rigorously against the clinical needs of providers and the quality and safety needs of healthcare consumers and payers. One script, for example, recreates a scenario of an elderly man with poorly controlled diabetes, hypertension and other chronic conditions in order to test EHR functions such as potential adverse drug reactions, disease management and treatment plans.

About Origin Healthcare Solutions formerly SSIMED
Origin Healthcare Solutions offers revenue cycle management services, business and clinical intelligence systems, practice management and EHR software as well as practice management consulting to more than 55,000 providers from solo practitioners to large hospital-based practices. We provide attentive and personal service along with exceptional software, delivering unparalleled performance metrics for our nationwide customer base. For more information about OHS, visit www.originhs.com or www.ssimed.com or call 1-800-358-6443.

About CCHIT
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT®) is an independent, 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® products is available at www.cchit.org.

“CCHIT®” and “CCHIT Certified®” are service marks of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.