Did you know there’s an association for EHR developers in the United States? When looking for an EHR provider, there are good reasons to first consider a member of the Electronic Health Record Association (EHRA).
What is EHRA?
The EHRA was created in 2004 to help EHR developers collaborate and resolve common concerns among their businesses and customers. The association believes that widespread EHR adoption can improve patient care and healthcare productivity.
The association also encourages open dialogue and collaboration between health IT companies and providers, including clinicians and hospitals.
EHRA members support ideas that include:
Rapid adoption of EHRs and other healthcare IT
Improved EHR interoperability and usability
Safety in healthcare delivery
Continued EHR and healthcare IT innovation
Conducting business with integrity
Healthcare research and transformation
High quality and efficiency of care
Developing health IT standards and certification processes
Representing customers’ needs and points of view
Transparency in business
Requirements for EHRA membership
To become or remain a member of the Electronic Health Record Association, a company must fulfill several requirements:
Be a HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Corporate Member “in good standing”
Design, develop, and market its own proprietary EHR software
Be a legal, reputable EHR vendor
The member’s EHR software application must be commercially available in the United States
Have at least five EHR customer installations in commercial use in the United States
EHRA Developer Code of Conduct
The EHRA launched the EHR Developer Code of Conduct in June 2013. The EHRA developed this code with several stakeholders to promote many of the EHRA’s ideas.
The EHRA’s code of conduct covers numerous aspects of EHR use. A few of these include:
Interoperability: The EHRA believes “that data should follow the patient.” The association encourages clients to exchange clinical information with other parties involved with a patient’s care. Whenever possible, EHR companies should use available, uniform standards for developing software interfaces.
Patient safety: The code recognizes that all stakeholders share responsibility for patient safety. EHR vendors should participate with recognized groups for reviewing and analyzing patient safety events. They should also share safety best practices with clients, and offer processes by which EHR clients can report patient safety-related issues.
Security: Software and business practices should be developed with the goal of securely handling protected health information (PHI). EHR companies should commit to following PHI best practices, recognizing that they are stewards of confidential information.
The EHRA encourages all EHR companies to adopt the code, even if they are not an association member.
Why work with an EHRA member company?
Because of its membership requirements, healthcare managers and providers can expect a high level of quality when partnering with an EHRA member company. EHR vendors with EHRA membership are in good standing, both in business and legally, and are well established in their field.
In addition, you can expect members of the EHRA to value the same principles as the association, including interoperability, patient safety, and meaningful use.
Dedication to quality, safety, and usability
EHRA member BestNotes is committed to creating HIPAA-compliant software applications for behavioral health and addiction treatment providers. Contact us today to ask about a free trial and bring your organization to the next level.