PALO ALTO, Calif., May 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ARIA® for medical oncology (Version 10 MR2), an electronic medical record (EMR) and clinical practice management system, has been certified for use by customers to demonstrate Stage 1 "meaningful use" of an EMR to qualify for federal funding under the HITECH Act.
Last week, ARIA for medical oncology, which is made by Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR), received complete EMR certification for ambulatory environments from the Drummond Group. Tested under the Drummond Group's Electronic Health Records Office of the National Coordinator Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) program, the ARIA medical oncology system was certified as 2011/2012 compliant in accordance with the criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
ARIA for medical oncology provides medical oncology clinics with tools for managing the full spectrum of clinical, administrative, and financial activities. It incorporates a comprehensive oncology-specific EMR that enables clinicians to design a personalized care path for each patient, from initial diagnosis through follow-up. Some 250 treatment centers around the world have adopted the ARIA for medical oncology solution. ARIA has been rated among the top three oncology IT solutions every year since 2008 by KLAS, an independent research firm that reports on the performance of healthcare vendors, and ranked #1 in 2008 and 2009 (http://www.klasresearch.com/).
"The HITECH Act was put in place to help promote quality care and to provide incentives to healthcare providers that implement and use electronic medical records, or EMRs, in a meaningful way. These electronic health records must first receive certification that they meet certain standards," said Ken Hotz, a senior product manager at Varian. "With our certification, ARIA for medical oncology is an oncology EMR that can enable healthcare providers to seek incentives provided as part of the HITECH Act."
Drummond Group's ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification program tests EMRs to determine if they meet the eligibility requirements to be considered a certified EMR under the HITECH Act. In turn, healthcare providers using the EMR systems of certified vendors are qualified to receive federal stimulus monies upon demonstrating meaningful use of the technology -- a key component of the federal government's push to improve clinical care delivery through the adoption and meaningful use of EMRs by U.S. healthcare providers.
To help ARIA users qualify for incentive payments under the HITECH Act, Varian has also launched a number of customer service programs, including Clinical Consulting Services and regularly-scheduled symposia and online webinars that cover how to use ARIA to demonstrate meaningful use of an EMR.
This Complete EMR is 2011/2012 compliant and has been certified by Drummond Group, an ONC-ATCB approved to certify any complete or modular EMR both ambulatory and inpatient, in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.
ARIA for medical oncology Version 10 MR2 was certified on April 28, 2011. Certification ID number 04282011-1209-8 for Clinical Quality Measures: NQF0013, NQF0024, NQF0028, NQF0038, NQF0041, NQF0385, NQF0387, NQF0389, NQF0421. Additional software used: 7-Zip; MS Excel; Email software.
About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 5,500 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and China and approximately 70 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com.
About Drummond Group
Drummond Group Inc., the trusted software test lab, provides effective and efficient electronic health record (EMR) testing to healthcare information technology vendors and hospitals. As an Office of the National Coordinator Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB), Drummond Group works closely with healthcare software vendors and hospitals to certify EMRs that are looking to qualify for incentive funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Drummond Group is approved to certify both complete and modular EMRs for both ambulatory and inpatient. Leveraging more than a decade's worth of interoperability, conformance testing and certification experience in multiple industries, Drummond Group delivers what's needed in healthcare: highly reliable and readily affordable software testing services. For more information, go to www.drummondgroup.com.
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Meryl Ginsberg, 650.424.6444
meryl.ginsberg@varian.com
SOURCE Varian Medical Systems