Which organization was already an EHR certification organization prior to the establishment of ONC Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies?

• A. Drummond
• B. CDRH
• C. CCHIT
• D. FDA

Answer: (C)

Understanding who certified EHRs before ONC established its testing and certification bodies is key. CCHIT, the Certification Commission for Health IT, was created specifically to certify electronic health records and to publish certification criteria, test methods, and a list of certified products. This gave it an established, private-sector EHR certification program long before ONC set up the Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies framework to oversee testing nationwide. The ONC program later expanded certification by accrediting third-party labs as ATCBs to conduct testing and certification, rather than relying solely on a single private certifier. The other options don’t fit because the FDA and its CDRH regulate medical devices rather than certifying EHR software, and Drummond Group did not exist as a pre‑ONC EHR certifier before the ONC framework was created.