Earning the CPHQ is important.
Recertifying is essential. Protect your credential.
The CPHQ validates your knowledge of healthcare quality and demonstrates your dedication to the field. As the profession of healthcare quality rapidly changes, it is vital that you maintain the skills and credibility gained through the CPHQ by recertifying the credential.
The Recertification Handbook outlines requirements, ways to earn continuing education (CE), audit procedures, and the Retired status, and should be read before applying for recertification.
The Recertification Cycle
Each recertification cycle lasts two years, beginning January 1 of the year following your initial certification. The cycle ends on December 31 of the second year.
If you are not sure when you are due to recertify your CPHQ, log in to your NAHQ account and verify your certifications expiration date within the My Certification section.
Recertification Requirements
Recertification is an integral part of the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality® (CPHQ) program, allowing certified individuals to demonstrate continued expertise in the field through continuous professional development.
Our goal at NAHQ is to make it a clear, well-defined process and adding value to CPHQs.
In order to complete recertification:
- Thirty CEs are required to complete recertification.
- It is required that eight of your 30 CEs are from NAHQ-approved* CE activities.
- You are required to complete the NAHQ Professional Assessment at least once during your recertification cycle. The Professional Assessment is free to all CPHQs and two CEs will be awarded for completing it. More information on the Professional Assessment can be found here.
*A NAHQ-approved activity is defined as an activity that has been approved by NAHQ through the CPHQ CE Approval Program.
As a reminder, if you are a NAHQ member all of your continuing education requirements are offered through your membership. Interested in becoming a NAHQ member? Join now!
Questions?
Watch NAHQ's recent recertification info session to learn more about the recertification process.
Update Your Contact Information
To ensure you receive recertification notifications, please update your contact information by accessing your account or get in touch with us.
2023 Recertification Fees
Advanced Rate (before September 30):
October 1 – December 31:
Grace Period (January 1-31):
NAHQ Member
$175
$225
$275
Nonmember
$230
$280
$330
Looking for CE Activities?
Here are a few opportunities that offer CE credits:
- NAHQ Next 2023, a multi-day virtual event, taking place Sept. 11-13, will offer 35+ CPHQ CE credits
- NAHQ Next 2022 On-Demand is available for purchase and provides the opportunity to earn up to 40+ CEs
- On-demand learning lab webinars and Journal for Healthcare Quality article quizzes, which are complimentary for NAHQ members
- NAHQ-approved live CPHQ CE activities
- NAHQ-approved on-demand CPHQ CE activities
Visit our Events Calendar to find upcoming events, approved for CPHQ CE credit, hosted by other organizations.
Recertification FAQs
To help guide the tracking of your CE activity earned, please review the information below.
All CE must relate to at least one area of the CPHQ Content Outline, and it must have been earned within your recertification cycle dates. CE cannot be earned during the Grace Period.
The following are examples of acceptable CE activities for CPHQ recertification:
Conferences
Calculate 60 minutes of education equals 1 CE hour. This can be for both in-person and online attendance. If the conference offered any poster views, you can count every 1 poster for .15 CE.
Webinars, Workshops and Other Professional Development Courses
Calculate 60 minutes of education equals 1 CE hour. This can be for both in-person and online attendance. If you attended a review course or workshop in preparation for earning a certification during your recertification cycle, this may be awarded towards CE. However, earning a certification cannot be applied towards your CPHQ recertification.
Speaking Engagements and Workshop Presentations
Examples include presentations and abstracts made by you to your state or local quality association or as a guest speaker at a college course in healthcare. Presentations given as part of your job or work responsibilities are not accepted for recertification. Four CE hours are awarded per 1 hour of presentation. Presentations given more than once with the same content may be claimed only once during each cycle.
College Coursework
Calculate 15 CE hours for each semester credit hour and 10 CE hours for each quarter hour. Courses with general education are NOT accepted. For example, if you attended a 3-semester college credit course on Integrated Health Leadership, you can document 45 CEs (15 CEs x 3 Credit Hours).
CE Article Quizzes
One CE hour can be earned for passing the CE article quiz for each designated CE article in NAHQ’s Journal for Healthcare Quality.
Formal Publication of Articles or Books
Formal publication of articles or books relevant to the CPHQ content outline are accepted for 4 CE hours per each full published page. Poster presentations at conferences are recognized for 4 CE hours for the author.
Questions?
If you need additional assistance with recertifying, please reach out to NAHQ customer service at info@nahq.org or (847) 375-4720 between 8 AM-4:30 PM CT, Monday-Friday.
Seminar Attendance
Calculate only educational hours: 60 minutes of education equals 1 CE hour. Any course, conference, seminar or summit that aligns with the content outline is acceptable.
Speaking Engagements and Workshop Presentations
Examples include presentations and abstracts given by you to your state or local quality association or as a guest speaker at a college course in healthcare. Presentations given as part of your job or work responsibilities are not accepted for recertification. Four CE hours are awarded per 1 hour of presentation. Presentations given more than once with the same content may be claimed only once during each cycle.
College Coursework
Calculate 15 CE hours for each semester credit hour and 10 CE hours for each quarter hour. Courses with general education are NOT accepted.
CE Article Quizzes
Read the designated CE article in NAHQ’s Journal for Healthcare Quality. One CE hour can be earned for passing the CE article quiz. Visit the NAHQ Store to access the CE article quizzes.
Formal Publication of Articles or Books
Formal publication of articles or books relevant to the CPHQ content outline are accepted for 4 CE hours per each full published page. Poster presentations at conferences are recognized for 4 CE hours for the author.
- To input your CE credits and to recertify online, log in to your NAHQ account associated with your CPHQ. All active certificants already have an account in our database. Please contact customer service for assistance in accessing your account.
- No, you only need to provide documentation if you are randomly selected for audit. Those selected for audit will receive an email outlining next steps within a week of recertifying.
- Those who are due to recertify cannot retake the CPHQ exam as a means to recertify.
- At this time, the CPHQ program does not offer a one-time hardship policy and therefore, if you do not recertify by your deadline, your certification will lapse. In order to regain the credential, you will need to retake the CPHQ exam.
- If you are struggling to find CE activities, be sure to reach out to us at info@nahq.org or 847.375.4720, Monday–Friday between 8 am–4:30 pm CT, so we can assist you in finding activities that can be applied toward your recertification.
- Since the CPHQ recertification program is based on the honor system, it is required by the NCCA to audit a select number of individuals to review the CE credits they submitted. If you are randomly selected for audit, you will be required to upload support documentation for your CE activities within a designated timeframe.
- If you are randomly selected for audit, you will be asked to provide documentation that has the following information, at a minimum: date of your activity, timeframe of the activity (or pre-approved CE amount) and title of the activity. You may be requested to provide additional supporting information as needed.
- Yes, please download and complete the paper application. Please mail the application and check for the appropriate fees to:
HQCC/NAHQ
8600 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue
Suite 710 N
Chicago, IL 60631
- If you are retiring from the healthcare quality profession, you do have the opportunity to maintain your credential by applying for CPHQ-Retired status. To be eligible, you must
- Retire from the profession with no plans to return or renew certification
- Be a current CPHQ at the time of retirement
- Pay the associated fee of $100
Please complete the CPHQ Retired Status Form and mail it along with the fee to NAHQ.
If you do not recertify by your stipulated deadline, you will no longer be able to use the CPHQ credential. Should you wish to earn the CPHQ credential at a later time, you will be required to apply and take the exam again.