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Standards and Guidelines

Files with labels - "Standards, Clients"At the heart of the CAAHEP accreditation system are our nationally-recognized Standards. All CAAHEP Standards have certain elements in common, however the Standards for each discipline contain specific requirements for training entry level practitioners in that profession. The Standards are approved by the CAAHEP Board of Directors and are subject to review every five years. The Standards review process is a rigorous one that includes, input from the communities of interest, a public open hearing, and approval by the Committee on Accreditation (CoA) and its sponsoring organization(s).


The Standards review and revision process requires that proposed Standards be posted on the CAAHEP website at least 30 days prior to the date of the open hearing. Please check News and Announcements for current notices of open hearings. If you would like to comment on proposed standards for any of the CAAHEP professions, please email mail@caahep.org.

To review the Standards and Guidelines for a specific profession, please select the appropriate profession below (please note in some instances there may be more than one set of Standards for the profession, if this is the case please contact the appropriate CoA to determine which set of Standards currently applies to your program). Some of the newer professions are currently working on developing Standards and are indicated as "coming soon."

Advanced Cardiovascular Sonography 
Anesthesia Technology
Anesthesiologist Assistant
Art Therapy
Assistive Technology
Cardiovascular Technology
Clinical Research  (effective 1/1/2020) 
Clinical Research  (effective through 12/31/2019)
Cytotechnology
Diagnostic Medical Sonography (effective 9/1/2021) Newly updated!
Diagnostic Medical Sonography (effective through 8/31/2021)
Emergency Medical Services - Paramedic
Exercise Physiology  
Exercise Sciences (effective 1/1/2022) Newly updated!
Exercise Sciences (effective through 12/31/2021)
Inclusive Rehabilitation Sciences - New Standards!
Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring (effective 1/1/2022) Newly updated!
Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring (effective through 12/31/2021)
Kinesiotherapy (effective 1/1/2022) Newly updated!
Kinesiotherapy (effective through 12/31/2021) 
Lactation Consultant (effective 5/21/18) 
Lactation Consultant (effective through 5/20/18)
Medical Assisting (effective 4/4/2022) Newly updated!
Medical Assisting   (effective through 4/3/2022)
(For those looking for the Arizona Medical Board regulation for Medical Assisting, the citation is Appendix B of the 2015 Medical Assisting Standards.)
Medical Illustration
Neurodiagnostic Technology 
Orthoptics - Standards in development
Orthotic and Prosthetic Technician 
Orthotics and Prosthetics
Orthotist and Prosthetist Assistant - New Standards!  
Pedorthic - New Standards!  
Perfusion 
Personal Fitness Training
Polysomnographic Technology
Recreational Therapy (effective July 1, 2017)
Recreational Therapy (effective through June 30, 2017)
Respiratory Care (effective February 1, 2022) Newly updated!
Specialist in Blood Bank Technology/Transfusion Medicine (effective 12/31/2022)
Specialist in Blood Bank Technology/Transfusion Medicine (effective 1/1/2023)
Surgical Assistant
Surgical Technology (effective through July 31, 2022)
Surgical Technology (effective August 1, 2022)