NIST awards contract to create EHR certification system

The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. a contract to help develop a testing method and processes for certifying electronic health record systems.

The $400,000 contract, announced Jan. 13, calls for the consulting firm to help NIST build a testing framework for health IT, a certification "process document" and other planning tools. NIST announced the short-term contract on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site Jan. 13. The work is part of a larger contract BAH already has with NIST for health IT consulting services, according to the announcement. The just-announced contract will provide a bridge until NIST finishes a competition for providers to complete the work. NIST said it had two goals for the program: to develop testing and certification documents to help set up a health IT certification program, and to set up a "proficiency testing framework" for authorizing certification and testing organizations.