"Our message for our customers has been, from a certification standpoint, we will be certified against the final criteria," Segal said. "We have the interim final criteria and, recognizing that these things are going to be refined, that we know enough about the dimensions of 'meaningful use' and what the government is looking for. We know enough about the likely dimensions of certification in our products. And we are committed to being in this space."

He noted that the CCHIT (Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology) process may shift from this private nonprofit entity more to federal government oversight to ensure providers use certified electronic health records. So doctors, hospitals, and health technology companies must all do their part to advance health information technology.


The domains of health information include EMR, PACS, HIS, RIS and other information systems, plus computerized physician order entry (CPOE), revenue, billing and practice management tools, laboratory, etc. Stimulus funds focus mostly on EMR. However, vendor certification will take a modular approach and other functions may come under the purview of the regulations. In addition, once data are integrated through Health Information Exchanges, the lines between data systems are blurred.

"There may be some functionality that is not traditionally part of comprehensive EMRs that would be included," Segal said. "What we will see is additional regulation about how to implement the certification criteria. That will give clarity on what software is covered."

While the technical details are being ironed out, clinicians who adopt electronic health records will be on the cutting edge of what Dr. Dente views as the latest revolution in medicine.

"The goal is patient care, interoperability of data, sharing of information to drive best practice, best quality of care," Dr. Dente said.

GE's work with large institutions will be a highlight at HIMSS, but the company also has health IT solutions for community hospitals, medical groups of all sizes, and community health centers, in effect giving the company the ability to migrate best practices from the teaching hospitals to the community.

"The average facility doesn't have the resources, money or staff and we're addressing that," Dr. Dente said. "A real benefit of the technology collaboration between Intermountain and Mayo is not just for the large academic centers, but its real benefit is its ability to go to the average community hospital, That is the breakthrough....in essence to create a knowledge bank in a box."

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