[Category: MU2 C-CDA Certification; Original Post: 06-Mar-14]C-CDA Version 1.1
The current version of the C-CDA standard that is in use at the time of the writing of this article (and is mandated for use by Meaningful Use Stage 2 in the 2014 Edition of Meaningful Use) is version 1.1. The publication date of this version of the C-CDA specification (more formally, the CDA Implementation Guide for C-CDA) was July 2012.
In December 2012, various errata corrections were published (in a Microsoft Word document named C-CDA TemplateLibrary_2012_12_21.docx and available as part of the downloadable C-CDA package from HL7) as an update to the C-CDA Template definitions. However, there was no change to the version number of C-CDA, which remained version 1.1.
C-CDA Version 2.0
In 2014, a primary focus of the group within HL7 (known as the Structured Documents Workgroup, or SDWG) that is responsible for CDA, was work on an update to the C-CDA standard (essentially, the C-CDA templates) that was labelled C-CDA version 2.0.
CDA Release 2.1 and 3.0
C-CDA 2.0, like C-CDA 1.1 before it, defines CDA Templates for CDA verson 2.0.
In parallel (and closely related) to the work on C-CDA 2.0, there has been a broader, long-running agenda in HL7 to update the overall CDA framework to a new version (which at times was labelled either CDA 2.1 or CDA 3.0, depending on how significant the changes were expected to be).
What Was Planned?
A big part of the C-CDA 2.0 agenda involved accumulated corrections and improvements based on feedback from practical implementation work (largely in the context of Meaningful Use) with C-CDA 1.1.
Extensive work was also done on the specification document itself. Relative to the published material for C-CDA 1.1, the C-CDA 2.0 draft materials included much more explanatory text and examples.
The new version was intended to introduce several new templates - including new document templates for Care Plan, Referral Note, and Transfer Note; a new "header template" for use with patient-generated documents; several new section templates (Goals Section, Health Concerns Section, Health Status/Evaluations Outcomes Section, and Physical Findings of Skin Section); and an extensive list of new entry templates.
Called Out in The Short-Lived MU 2015 Edition
As noted in the article Meaningful Use 2015 and 2017 Edition, 2014 saw the publication of proposed rules for the 2015 Edition of Meaningful Use, which were quickly shelved. The short-lived MU 2015 Edition called out C-CDA version 2.0 as the intended version of C-CDA that would be mandated by this newer edition of Meaningful Use.
A Murky Picture Entering 2015
At the time of this current article update at the start of 2015, there are many questions surrounding the future of Meaningful Use in general, the future relationship of CDA and FHIR, and even the future of MU2 (as financial incentive payments are dwindling and the subject of financial penalties in support of MU2 is under active debate).
Against this backdrop, it's very questionable if C-CDA 2.0 will ever see broad adoption. CDA PRO will continue to focus exclusively on C-CDA 1.1 as mandated by Meaningful Use 2014 Edition of Meaningful Use, until/unless there is stronger evidence that other versions will be practically relevant.
Other CDA PRO Know Articles Referenced In This Article
