Netsmart Technologies’ Avatar Product Receives CCHIT Certification
Software Complies with 100 Percent of Certification Criteria
Great River, NY (October 23, 2006) –
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHITSM) today announced that Netsmart Technologies is CCHIT CertifiedSM for the EHR portion of its Avatar 2006 product, and meets CCHIT ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) criteria for 2006.
Ambulatory EHRs are designed for physician offices and clinics where most Americans get their healthcare. CCHIT is a recognized certification authority in the United States for certifying health information technology products – an independent, non-profit organization that sets the benchmark for EHRs.
As a CCHIT Certified product, Avatar has been tested and passed inspection of 100 percent of a set of criteria for:
o Functionality (ability to create and manage electronic records for all patients, as well as automating workflow in a physician’s office),
o Interoperability (a first step in the ability to receive and send electronic data to other entities such as laboratories), and
o Security (ability to keep patients’ information safe).
Netsmart’s Avatar solutions provide comprehensive clinical, practice management and decision support capabilities for behavioral healthcare, public health, methadone, substance abuse, social services and MR/DD organizations nationwide.
The CCHIT Certified mark — a “seal of approval” for EHR products — provides the first
consensus-based, consistent benchmark for ambulatory products. By looking to products with the CCHIT Certified seal, physicians and other providers can be assured they are making a reliable investment, and insurers and other payers know the products meet expected industry standards.
“Physicians who purchase certified products have the assurance that they have been reviewed by a panel of judges, including practicing physicians, and that they are being evaluated against standards set by professionals in the field and successfully piloted with products from large and small companies,” said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., chair, CCHIT. “The quality and safety of EHR products can now be measured using certification criteria that were developed specifically for that purpose.”
“We’re pleased to be the first behavioral and public healthcare software and services provider to attain CCHIT certification,” said James L. Conway, chairman and chief executive officer, Netsmart Technologies. “This certification recognizes in a tangible way our dedication to helping our customers implement an integrated electronic health record.”
The goals of CCHIT product certification are to reduce the risk of HIT investment by physicians and other providers; ensure interoperability of HIT products; enhance the availability of HIT adoption incentives from purchasers and payers; and protect the privacy of personal health information.
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.
For information about Netsmart Technology’s full range of solutions for health and human services, visit www.ntst.com or call 1.800.421.7503.
About Netsmart Technologies, Inc.
Netsmart Technologies, Inc., based in Great River, N.Y., is an established, leading supplier of enterprise-wide software solutions for health and human services providers, with more than 1,300 clients, including more than 30 systems with state agencies. Netsmart’s clients include health and human services organizations, public health agencies, mental health and substance abuse clinics, psychiatric hospitals, and managed care organizations. Netsmart’s products are full-featured information systems that operate on a variety of operating systems, hardware platforms, and mobile devices, and offer unlimited scalability.
About CCHIT
CCHIT was founded in 2004 with support from three leading industry associations in healthcare information management and technology – The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and The National Alliance for Health Information Technology (Alliance). In September 2005, CCHIT was awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop, create prototypes for, and evaluate the certification criteria and inspection process for EHRs and the networks through which they interoperate. More information on CCHIT and a list of CCHIT Certified products is available at www.cchit.org
“CCHITSM” is a service mark of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.
“CCHIT CertifiedSM is a service mark of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.”
Statement on Behalf of Netsmart Technologies, Inc.
Statements in this press release may be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to the company or its management, identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the company’s business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and probably will, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those described above and those risks discussed from time to time in Netsmart’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, such statements could be affected by risks and uncertainties related to product demand, market and customer acceptance, competition, pricing and development difficulties, as well as general industry and market conditions and growth rates, and general economic conditions. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release. Information on Netsmart’s Web site does not constitute a part of this release.
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Source: Netsmart
