CCHI

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) serves the needs of bilingual, spoken-language healthcare interpreters committed to demonstrating their professional knowledge, skills and abilities by becoming certified based on national standards for competency assessment. At the same time, CCHI serves many stakeholders (healthcare providers and insurers, language agencies, government agencies, patients) who need qualified, certified, and competent healthcare interpreters to ensure effective communication between healthcare providers and patients to ensure access to high-quality healthcare.

CCHI offers two computer-based examinations for healthcare interpreters:
- Core Certification Healthcare Interpreter™ examination (CoreCHI™) for interpreters of all languages (core professional knowledge; 100 multiple-choice questions in English, 2 hours long);
- Certified Healthcare Interpreter™ examination (CHI™) for Spanish, Arabic, & Mandarin interpreters (oral performance exam; 1 hour long).

CCHI is the first organization certifying interpreters to receive accreditation from the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) in June 2012. NCCA accredited the CHI™-Spanish Certification affirming that the exam was developed in compliance with the NCCA’s Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs. NCCA accreditation is recognition of the rigor with which CCHI has established its certification, consistent with certification standards for comparable professionals working both in the healthcare sector (nurse practitioners, critical care nurses, occupational therapists, etc.) and outside (financial planners, personal trainers, etc.).