Public Listing and Commercial Availability
- Andrea Dennis
This topic is split into 2 parts, Public Listing and Commercial Availability. The below flow chart demonstrates different scenarios. Further detailed written explanations are provided below.
A condition of gaining certification is that once HIMSA has granted certification the version of the given product must be listed publicly as certified. This is important so that HCP’s and all Member Companies can verify that a product has been certified, please see 1.08 – Quickly Determine Certification Status for more details.
If the certification testing is completed successfully and the member company wishes to be immediately listed as certified then the process will proceed to the next topic – commercial availability.
If the testing is completed successfully but the company does not wish for the public to be aware of this product then the member can inform HIMSA that certification is not desired at this time but plans to activate the certification and subsequent public listing on specific date. At the indicated date HIMSA will move forward with the listing unless otherwise informed by the member company. HIMSA does need to know in advance if a company wishes for this option. In this situation HIMSA will keep the software installed on HIMSA test sites and continue testing with it.
If a critical issue happens to be found with another certified product between the testing and public listing HIMSA will need to publicly document the issue and HIMSA expects the member company to resolve the issue in a future version as quickly as possible.
Q: My product is not yet available to the general market, I am conducting field testing. Can I receive certification from HIMSA but ask to not be listed?
A: No
Q: Can I submit my product to HIMSA to just see what the results are?
A: Yes, you can submit to HIMSA as long as your company has first conducted any requirement member company test steps. HIMSA will simply report the results to your company.
A condition of gaining certification is that the member company agree that its commercially available products must be available to other HIMSA member companies for testing and troubleshooting only, see 1.11 – Easy access to other certified solutions for more details.
“Commercially Available” is defined to mean that the product is available for the broader customer market that the product was intended for. Release states such as alpha, beta, pre-released, limited release, do not constitute “Commercially Available”. If the product is not commercially available it will still need to be listed as certified but the member company is not required to make the solution available to other member companies.
When a member company submits for certification that will not be commercially available it will be the member company’s responsibility to indicate a date in the future when the product will be commercially available. When this date arrives HIMSA will then make the software available to other member companies. If this date has changed it is the member company’s responsibility to inform HIMSA.
Q: What will happen if a critical error is found after certification is granted for a product not yet commercially available?
A: There is a small chance that HIMSA finds a problem during another product test that would constitute a critical issue. If this would occur then HIMSA will not revoke the certification as that would conflict with 1.12 – Certification cannot be revoked . However, HIMSA will document the issue publicly and needs to expect that the member company will put forth a plan to patch or resolve the issue as quickly as possible.