Certified Healthcare Documentation Professional (CHDP)
The Certified Healthcare Documentation Professional (CHDP) exam is based
on the AHDI Core Competencies and the AHDI Model Curriculum. It is a voluntary credentialing exam for individuals who wish to become Certified Healthcare Documentation Professionals. The CHDP exam is designed to assess competency in healthcare documentation by determining if a candidate has the core knowledge and skills needed to practice healthcare documentation effectively in an electronic health record system, working with variable specialties and document types, and using critical thinking that requires an advanced level of clinical knowledge and interpretive ability.
Who Should Earn Their CHDP?
Anyone who participates in documenting patients’ health care is eligible to take the CHDP exam. This includes but is not limited to:
- Practitioners who document patient care in the health record
- Clinician-created documentation auditors/analysts
- Allied healthcare professionals
- Scribes
Candidate Recommendations for Earning Your Credential
- Possess the knowledge and skills outlined in the CHDP Exam Blueprint.
- Know and understand the information published in the CHDP Certification Guide.
- Assess your knowledge and skills to determine your readiness to sit for the exam.
- Take a practice exam.
About the CHDP Exam
The 100-question CHDP exam consists of multiple-choice questions and fill-in-the-blank questions requiring a specific word or term to accurately complete a sentence. These assessment types are used to test candidate knowledge, applied interpretive judgment, and advanced critical thinking skills in knowledge domains represented in the CHDP Exam Blueprint, including Clinical Medicine, Health Information Technology and Compliance, and Documentation Standards and Patient Risk Evaluation.
Download the CHDP Certification Guide to find out everything you need to know about the credentialing process, such as:
- Eligibility and Requirements
- Content Focus
- CHDP Exam Blueprint
- CHDP Sample Questions
- CHDP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
In addition, the CHDP Certification Guide provides detailed information about exam registration, online proctoring, exam preparation, and requirements for credential maintenance and recredentialing.
Exam Preparation
Take advantage of these great resources to test your knowledge and be prepared to take your exam:
- CHDP Exam Guide: A Walk Through the Blueprint (180-day, 365-day, and perpetual digital licenses available)
- CHDP Practice Exam (Auditor and Scribe microcredentialing practice exams also available upon earning your CHDP credential)
After Earning Your Credential
Upon successfully passing your credentialing exam, you will be recognized as a Certified Healthcare Documentation Professional and may use the CHDP designation. You will receive a wall certificate that shows the date through which the credential is valid (renewal date).
At any time, a CHDP may opt to sit for the CHDP-A and/or the CHDP-S exam. If you pass, you will relinquish your CHDP credential in favor of the CHDP-A or the CHDP-S credential (eg, Jackie Smith, CHDP-A, not Jackie Smith, CHDP, CHDP-A). If you take and pass both micro-credentialing exams, you still will relinquish your CHDP credential in favor of each micro-credential (e.g., Julie Wood, CHDP-A, CHDP-S; not Julie Wood, CHDP, CHDP-A, CHDP-S). However, you will remain on the same recertification cycle as your original CHDP credential earned. You must meet recredentialing requirements to maintain your active credentialing status. If you do not pass your micro-credentialing exam, you would continue in your cycle as a CHDP but must meet the recredentialing requirements to maintain your CHDP status.
If you hold an RHDS or CHDS credential upon passing the CHDP, you will add the CHDP after you name in addition to your RHDS or CHDS (eg, Jane Smith, CHDS, CHDP; Tonya Jones, RHDS, CHDP); likewise, if you pass a micro-credentialing exam, that credential will trump your CHDP and be added after your name along with your RHDS or CHDS (eg, Sara Thompson, RHDS, CHDP-A; Luke Collins, CHDS, CHDP-S). Your recertification cycle will be aligned with your original RHDS or CHDS cycle.
Your CHDP credential will be valid for 3 years. Before your certification expires, you will need to recertify. Recertification requires you to earn a minimum of 30 continuing education credits (CECs) through applicable professional development activities over your 3-year cycle.
Again, if you have an RHDS or CHDS credential upon passing the CHDP, your certification cycle will be aligned with your original RHDS or CHDS credentialing cycle and the new recertification will need to be met by the end of your current 3-year cycle to keep both credentials active.
Certified Healthcare Documentation Professional–Auditor (CHDP-A)
The Certified Healthcare Documentation Professional–Auditor (CHDP-A) exam
is a voluntary credentialing exam for individuals who have earned the Certified Healthcare Documentation (CHDP) credential and wish to earn the Auditor micro-credential. The CHDP-A exam is designed to assess competency in healthcare documentation auditing by determining if a candidate has the core knowledge and skills needed to effectively audit clinician-created documentation.
Who Should Earn Their CHDP-A?
Anyone who participates in documenting patients’ health care is eligible to take the CHDP-A exam. This includes but is not limited to clinician-created documentation auditors/analysts.
Recommendations for Earning Your Credential
- Possess the knowledge and skills outlined in the CHDP-A Exam Blueprint.
- Know and understand the information published in the CHDP Certification Guide.
- Assess your knowledge and skills to determine your readiness to sit for the exam.
- Take a practice exam.
About the CHDP-A Exam
The 35-question CHDP-A exam consists of multiple-choice questions. This assessment type is used to test candidate knowledge, applied interpretive judgment, and advanced critical thinking skills in knowledge domains represented on the CHDP-A Exam Blueprint, including Clinical Medicine and Auditor Roles and Responsibilities.
Download the CHDP Certification Guide to find out everything you need to know about the credentialing process, such as:
- Eligibility and Requirements
- Content Focus
- CHDP-A Exam Blueprint
- CHDP-A Sample Questions
In addition, the CHDP Certification Guide provides detailed information about exam registration, online proctoring, exam preparation, and requirements for credential maintenance and recredentialing.
After Earning Your Credential
Individuals who successfully complete this AHDI credentialing process are recognized as Certified Healthcare Documentation Professional Auditor and are entitled to use the CHDP-A designation. The credential is valid for 3 years. CHDP-A credential-holders are required to recredential by earning a minimum of 35 continuing education credits (CECs). Upon passing the exam, each CHDP-A receives a wall certificate that shows the date the credential was obtained and the date through which the credential is valid (renewal date).
Certified Healthcare Documentation Professional–Scribe (CHDP-S)
The Certified Healthcare Documentation Professional–Scribe (CHDP-S) exam is a
voluntary credentialing exam for individuals who have earned the Certified Healthcare Documentation Professional (CHDP) credential and wish to earn the Scribe micro-credential. The CHDP-S exam is designed to assess competency in healthcare documentation by determining if a candidate has the core knowledge and skills needed to effectively create documentation when acting as a scribe.
Who Should Earn Their CHDP-S?
Anyone who participates in documenting patients’ health care is eligible to take the CHDP-S exam. This includes but is not limited to healthcare documentation professionals acting in the role of a scribe.
Recommendations for Earning Your Credential
- Possess the knowledge and skills outlined in the CHDP-S Exam Blueprint.
- Know and understand the information published in the CHDP Certification Guide.
- Assess your knowledge and skills to determine your readiness to sit for the exam.
- Take a practice exam.
About the CHDP-S Exam
The 35-question CHDP-S exam consists of multiple-choice questions. This assessment type is used to test candidate knowledge, applied interpretive judgment, and advanced critical thinking skills in knowledge domains represented on the CHDP-S Exam Blueprint, including Clinical Medicine; Health Information Technology and Compliance; and Scribe Roles and Responsibilities.
Download the CHDP Certification Guide to find out everything you need to know about the credentialing process, such as:
- Eligibility and Requirements
- Content Focus
- CHDP-S Exam Blueprint
- CHDP-S Sample Questions
In addition, the CHDP Certification Guide provides detailed information about exam registration, online proctoring, exam preparation, and requirements for credential maintenance and recredentialing.
After Earning Your Credential
Individuals who successfully complete this AHDI credentialing process are recognized as Certified Healthcare Documentation Professional Scribes and are entitled to use the CHDP-S designation. The credential is valid for 3 years. CHDP-S credential-holders are required to recredential by earning a minimum of 35 continuing education credits (CECs). Upon passing the exam, each CHDP-S receives a wall certificate that shows the date the credential was obtained and the date through which the credential is valid (renewal date).
