ehr onc final certification - Department of Health Care Services

disability communities on accessibility and usability and how HIT will impact members
of this community. The commenters requested that we clarify the applicability of
accessibility standards and that we add technological non-discrimination as a goal to
guide future standards work.
Response. We appreciate the thorough and thoughtful comments provided related
to accessibility. We believe that HIT has the potential to provide all persons with more
efficient access to their health information. In that regard, we solicited public comment
on the issue of accessibility and certification to garner more information about available
standards and to begin a path forward that included these standards as part of the overall
standards adoption process. We reiterate what we discussed in the interim final rule
when we provided the context for our solicitation of public comment on accessibility.
“Nothing required by this interim final rule should be construed as affecting
existing legal requirements under other Federal laws. While the capabilities
provided by Certified EHR Technology may assist in the compliance with certain
legal requirements, they do not in any way remove or alter those
requirements….As another example, in providing patients with access to their
online health information, it is important to note that the accessibility
requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 still apply to entities covered by these Federal civil
rights laws. Additionally, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its
implementing regulations protect persons from unlawful discrimination on the
basis of race, color and national origin. Under Title VI and its implementing
regulations, recipients of Federal financial assistance must take reasonable steps
to ensure meaningful access to their programs, services, and activities by eligible
limited English proficient persons.”
While we have not yet adopted specific accessibility standards as a condition of
certification, we believe that the adoption of such standards in a future rulemaking would
prove beneficial, to enable all persons (including health care providers with disabilities)
to have equitable access to EHR technology and the electronic information it generates.
In the interim, we encourage Complete EHR and EHR Module developers to design their
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