Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Issues/Environmental Assessment
The privacy and security officer roles, state preemption, health information exchange, record retention, and access to PHI in a public health emergency.
10 to 18 % of the exam
In development · Healthcare privacy and security
Healthcare Privacy and Security
A course in development for people preparing for AHIMA's Certified in Healthcare Privacy and Security (CHPS) exam. It will cover the exam's four domains and work from the regulations themselves, mainly the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules.
Who it is for
Privacy and security officers in healthcare.
For privacy officers, security officers, compliance staff, and health information professionals who handle protected health information. AHIMA asks for healthcare privacy or security experience: from one year with a master's degree to six years with a high school diploma.
The exam
How the CHPS exam works.
The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) sets and runs the exam. You take it at a Pearson VUE test centre or, in the United States, online with OnVUE.
- Questions
- 150, of which 125 are scored
- Time
- 3.5 hours
- Passing score
- 300
- Fee
- $259 for AHIMA members, $329 for others
Planned outline
What the course will cover.
The four domains of AHIMA's content outline, effective 1 September 2022, with the share of the exam each one carries. The course will have a module for each.
Privacy and Security Program Management and Administration
The Notice of Privacy Practices and patient rights, business associate agreements, training, de-identification, minimum necessary, designated record sets, and disclosures for research and marketing.
30 to 40 % of the exam
Information Technology/Physical and Technical Safeguards
The security plan under 45 CFR 164.306, risk assessment, access control and authentication, transmission security, contingency planning, and media disposal.
24 to 35 % of the exam
Investigation, Compliance, and Enforcement
Monitoring compliance, auditing access to PHI, investigating incidents and complaints, and breach risk assessment, notification, and documentation.
19 to 24 % of the exam
Sources, checked 23 October 2026: AHIMA's CHPS certification page; the CHPS content outline (PDF). AHIMA publishes the exam and owns its name; Polyseminar is an independent publisher (see the independence notice).
Open now: Imaging informatics.
Work through 80 lessons on DICOM, clinical workflows, systems, operations, and certification topics. Each lesson includes questions and a recall prompt.