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2024 AHIMA Recertification Policy Updates - Frequently Asked Questions
AHIMA is updating the 2024 AHIMA Recertification Policy to offer additional options for
accruing CEUs, recognize more experiences for CEU reporting, and bolster the credibility
and prestige of certifications through formally acknowledging enhancement activities.
These updates provide added value and flexibility to certified professionals, while
ensuring rigor, consistency, and quality of learning experiences. The updates to the
AHIMA Recertification Policy now make it easier than ever to maintain AHIMA
certification. Information is provided below to help answer questions regarding the 2024
AHIMA Recertification Policy updates. Additional information can be found in the updated
Recertification Guide here.
What are the key 2024 AHIMA Recertification Policy updates?
• Certified professionals now have more ways to earn CEUs including obtaining
additional AHIMA certifications and microcredentials; serving in a defined AHIMA
volunteer role; serving as an AHIMA volunteer in an industry-relevant, non-AHIMA
professional or trade association; and authoring a research journal or educational
article in a professional or trade journal.
• To add value and flexibility, up to 20 percent of additional CEUs earned (beyond
the minimum amount required) within the last three months of a certified
professional’s current recertification period will rollover into the next reporting
period. For CEUs to qualify for this rollover opportunity, they must come from
AHIMA, a Component Association (CA), or an AHIMA Approved Continuing
Education Provider Program (ACEP) provider and be aligned with a HIIM domain.
Learn more about ACEP below.
o Example #1: If I am required to report 30 CEUs and only report 30 CEUs,
then there are none available to rollover.
o Example #2: If I am required to report 30 CEUs and I report 40 CEUs, then I
can rollover 20 percent of the excess 10 CEUs (two), as long as they come
from AHIMA, a CA, or an ACEP provider (and be aligned with a HIIM
domain).
o Example #3: If I am required to report 30 CEUs and I report 50 CEUs, then I
can rollover 20 percent of the excess 20 CEUs (four), as long as they come
from AHIMA, a CA, or an ACEP provider (and be aligned with a HIIM
domain).
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• A minimum of 40% of CEUs are now required to come directly from AHIMA
resources and/or Component Associations. Remaining CEUs can come from the
AHIMA Approved Continuing Education Provider Program (ACEP) partners and
other third-party education providers. It is now easier to earn the required CEUs
with the newly recognized CEU opportunities, in addition to the existing ways to
earn CEUs and free CEUs provided to AHIMA members annually.
o The Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information
Management (CCHIIM) voted to defer the implementation of the 40% AHIMA
and/or Component Associations CEU requirement until no earlier than
January 1, 2025.
o This postponement provides credential holders ample time to understand the
changes and adjust their plans accordingly.
What will remain the same?
• No changes have been made to the required number of CEUs reported for single or
multiple certification combinations.
• No changes have been made to the recertification cycle duration (i.e., it remains
two years).
• No changes have been made to the recertification fees or discounts associated
with AHIMA membership.
When will the recertification policy updates go into effect?
• The new optional CEU opportunities go into effect on January 1, 2024.
• The new 40% CEU requirement will go into effect on January 1, 2025.
• Any AHIMA certified professional whose recertification cycle begins on January 1,
2025, or thereafter, will have a full two years to complete, report, and comply with
the 2025 40% CEU requirements.
• If a certified professional’s recertification cycle start date occurs BEFORE January
1, 2025, then they will continue to meet/follow the 2024 recertification
requirements. Only when they recertify successfully and their next two-year cycle
goes into effect, after January 1, 2025, will the 2025 40% CEU requirements
apply.
Why are these updates being made?
• A comprehensive review and revision or update on the recertification requirements
has not been completed in more than 10 years.
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• These updates increase recertification program efficacy for both AHIMA certified
professionals and employers.
• These updates align and leverage existing and nascent learning experiences with
best practices for recertification requirements.
• These updates are being made to better anticipate and influence current and
future workforce development needs for individuals and organizations. (Examples:
ICD-10, career map, others)
• These updates contribute to extending and strengthening the value of AHIMA
Certification for certified professionals.
Is there a low-cost way to meet the new 40% requirement?
• Yes. All AHIMA professional members receive 5 FREE CEUs annually. This means
that all AHIMA professional members receive 10 FREE CEUs during a two-year
period.
• Yes. All AHIMA professional premier members receive 8 FREE CEUs annually. This
means that all AHIMA professional premier members receive 16 FREE CEUs during
a two-year period.
Where can certified professionals and members go for more information on
these updates?
• Certified professionals can reach out to the AHIMA Customer Relations team by
calling (800) 335-5535, emailing info@ahima.org, or visiting this page on the
AHIMA website.
How do these updates align with the feedback AHIMA has received from
certified professionals?
• Certified professionals have shared that they are seeking additional options to earn
CEUs and maintain their certification.
• Certified professionals have also shared that they are going above meeting their
CEU requirements but lose out on the additional credit they have paid for.
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What is the AHIMA Approved Continuing Education Provider Program (ACEP)?
• The ACEP program offers third-party providers the opportunity to issue CEUs that
qualify toward AHIMA’s 60% recertification requirement.
• ACEP providers and their programs are vetted and approved by AHIMA staff and
are held to high standards of quality, consistency, and rigor of content and
presentation.
• Examples of ACEP providers include Libman Education, The Mayo Clinic, and the
American Hospital Association.
Why has AHIMA not changed the quality of the education that CCHIIM asked of
them before the release of the recertification changes?
We have taken several steps to deliver quality education in the last year based on
feedback from the 2022 member needs assessment. In 2023, AHIMA launched the
Quarterly Member Exclusive Webinar series that featured current content and gave
members an opportunity to earn their free CEUs outside the Token Reward Center. We
will continue this series with new quarterly webinars in 2024.
We will sunset the Token Reward Center in 2024 and replace it with Coupon Rewards
that will provide members between 1-4 CEUs (depending on membership level) and
allow members to shop for single CEU products in the AHIMA Store.
Other ways for members to earn CEUs include Journal of AHIMA Quizzes – a short quiz
at the end of a Journal of AHIMA article. They are in the AHIMA Store and are available
to members for $20.00. With the recertification changes introduced in January 2024,
there are additional ways that members can earn CEUs, including volunteer positions at
AHIMA, with a CA or in industry activities and for industry relevant organizations or
associations. You can learn more about these additional opportunities in the
recertification center on AHIMA.org.
When is the 40% requirement going to be implemented?
The new requirement will be implemented in January 2025. The AHIMA staff will use this
time to further educate our CAs, members and certified non-members and give them the
information they need to prepare.
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Can you share more details about the broader review of the CEU and education
process?
The Board and AHIMA staff have added this initiative to the 2024 strategic plan. We will
share more information about the objectives, process and approach soon.
Where do I go for more information about the recertification policy changes?
Please visit https://ahima.org/certification-careers/recertify/ for more information about
the recertification policy changes.
Will the data/benchmarks from the workgroup be shared?
We have shared the list of organizations that the workgroup benchmarked as part of this
effort. Each organization makes its specific CEU requirements available to the public.
Can you provide in writing where the statement of AHIMA had required 20%
CEUs in the past and now are increasing to 40 is based on. I am only aware of
20/80 CEU rule of 20% of your CEUs can come from a non-AHIMA Domain, if it
is related to the member's job. See 2024 Recertification guide page 6.
There has not been a formal requirement for 20% of CEUs to come from AHIMA. The
prior 80/20 requirement focused on ensuring that 80% of CEUs come from an AHIMA
domain.
What organizations mandate a percentage of CEUS come from the parent
national association and not the chapters? HIMSS, CHIME, ANCC, and AAPC do
not have any such requirements.
The requirements are different for an association like AHIMA that has component
associations, which are separate legal entitles instead of chapters, which are a legal
extension of the parent organization. HIMSS, CHIMA, ANCC and AAPC all fit the latter
description.
For coding professionals who are dually certified through AHIMA and AAPC, is
any AAPC-sponsored education part of the 60% or do they have to be ACEP-
approved? AAPC accepts CEUs directly from AHIMA and their affiliates
(including CAs) without a need for preapproval through their process. How
many members do we have that are dually-credentialed who might decide to
let their AHIMA membership and credentials collapse because of these
changes?
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Yes. CEUs from AAPC or any other HI-adjacent professional association would be
included in the 60%. We are confident that credential holders and their employers place
value on their credentials and will choose to maintain them.
Will AHIMA delivered content at CA conferences count toward the 40%?
Yes, AHIMA delivered content that is a part of a CAs annual meeting will continue to
count toward the 40%.
Is there any way we could meet then with CCHIIM rather than, what is
apparently going through a 3rd party with speaking to AHIMA? It seems like
CCHIIM has made up their minds and answers will only ever be second-hand
from AHIMA.
CCHIIM, the AHIMA Board and AHIMA staff are all aligned on our approach going
forward and the rationale for the changes made to the recertification policy. The
information and responses will be the same regardless of who our members or
certification holders talk with. That said, we will invite the CCHIIM Chair and potentially
other members of the CCHIIM executive committee to participate in any future
discussions on this topic.
The information in this document will be updated periodically and you will be notified as
updates are made.
