The American National Standards Institute has won a second three-year term as the ONC-Approved Accreditor for the ONC Health Information Technology Certification Program.

ONC certifies electronic health records to ensure they meet standards to improve healthcare quality, safety and efficiency through the promotion of IT and health information exchange. EHR products that have been successfully tested by a National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program Accredited Testing Laboratory are certified under this program.

As ONC-AA, ANSI accredits the organizations that seek to serve as ONC-Authorized Certification Bodies under this program, also ensuring that they continue to meet requirements necessary to maintain accreditation.

ANSI was approved as the ONC-AA after a competitive process that included an evaluation against a specific set of requirements, according a Department of Health and Human Services press release. The requirements include conformance to ISO/IEC 17011 and experience evaluating conformance of certification bodies to ISO Guide 65.

"ANSI is very pleased to have been chosen once again as the ONC-Approved Accreditor under the HIT Certification Program," said S. Joe Bhatia, ANSI president and CEO, in a press statement. "This is one of many instances where government bodies have chosen to rely on ANSI accreditation to demonstrate value and assure competency for important national priorities."

"Accreditation by ANSI creates a valuable attribute for certification bodies," added Reinaldo Figueiredo, ANSI's senior program director for product and process accreditation. "This value extends through the service network and will help to instill confidence in EHR technology among health IT developers, health professionals and hospitals, and the general public."