To qualify for a Medicare or Medicaid incentive payment, providers must adopt certified EHR technology and use it to achieve specific objectives. Standards and rules for Meaningful Use certification are issued by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), and certification of EHR technology is performed by an ONC Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB).

An ONC-ATCB certification signifies to eligible professionals and hospitals that an EHR has the capabilities necessary to support their efforts to achieve Meaningful Use. Certification also gives providers and patients confidence that the electronic health IT products and systems they use are secure, can maintain data privacy, and can work with other systems to share information. Providers can check if their EHR is certified by visiting the Certified HIT Product List.