Netsmart Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of software and services for health and human services organizations, announced that its Insight 7.1 electronic health record (EHR) software for local health departments has achieved 100 per cent ONC-ATCB ARRA Ambulatory Certification.

With the complete certification of the Insight solution, all three Netsmart enterprise software solutions have now attained 100 per cent ARRA certification. Healthcare provider organizations must adopt an ARRA-Certified EHR to qualify for Medicaid or Medicare incentive funds for the Meaningful Use of an EHR.

“Attaining 100 per cent ARRA certification for our enterprise software suites underscores our commitment to helping our clients provide the highest possible quality of care,” said Michael Valentine, chief executive officer, Netsmart Technologies. “In a world of converging, integrated care we made a concerted decision to go beyond the basic ARRA criteria and build clinical and data integration capabilities into our solutions that equip our clients for long-term success.”

Insight 7.1 software will be designated as a Complete EHR on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Certified Health IT Product List. Testing was conducted under Drummond Group's Electronic Health Records ONC-ATCB program. Drummond Group, Inc., is an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) named by the Office of the National Coordinator to provide Meaningful Use certification for EHR systems and applications.

“We appreciate that Netsmart is equipping its clients to qualify for Meaningful Use incentive funds, especially as local health departments and other health and human services agencies face unprecedented funding challenges,” said Elaine Kempf, administrator, St. Clair County (Mich.) Health Department, an Insight software client organization.

Health departments are currently eligible for ARRA incentives based on the number of Eligible Professionals (EPs), such as physicians and nurse practitioners, in their organization, assuming the organization meets criteria for Meaningful Use of a certified EHR and the professionals assign their incentives to the organization. The total benefit for Medicaid Eligible Professionals is $63,750 per EP over a six-year period – a significant financial incentive for organizations.

In the first year of participation in the Medicaid Meaningful Use funding programme, healthcare providers need only adopt (purchase) an ARRA-certified EHR to meet the Meaningful Use requirement of using an ARRA-certified EHR. There is no requirement to demonstrate Meaningful Use in the first year, and no EHR reporting is required. Eligible providers who have already adopted, implemented or upgraded to an ARRA-certified EHR would also receive a first year payment.

Netsmart Technologies is an established, leading supplier of software-as-a service (SaaS)and internally-installed software solutions for health and human services providers.