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AAAHC Releases Updated 2025 Credentialing and Privileging Toolkit

SEPTEMBER 15, 2025

The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) released its updated 2025 Credentialing and Privileging Toolkit, designed to help ambulatory healthcare organizations streamline and strengthen the process of verifying provider qualifications and ensuring clinical competence, according to a release. The updated toolkit delivers practical tools and insights to support compliance with AAAHC standards, accreditation requirements and regulatory expectations, ultimately helping organizations protect patients, promote peer accountability and foster a culture of continuous quality improvement.

The revised edition supports primary care and surgical/procedural organizations in developing clear, compliant credentialing and privileging processes. Included are step-by-step flowcharts and updated references to guide organizations through each stage, from initial application to recredentialing, according to the release.

“The 2025 Credentialing and Privileging Toolkit provides an essential resource for ambulatory healthcare organizations to help advance clinical excellence and patient safety,” said Noel Adachi, president and chief executive officer of AAAHC, in the release. “This updated version reinforces our 1095 Strong, quality every day philosophy by helping organizations maintain continuous compliance throughout the accreditation term.”

Credentialing and privileging are critical processes that confirm providers, such as physicians, dentists, chiropractors and allied health professionals, have the education, training and current competence required to deliver safe patient care. The toolkit delivers an overview of which providers need to be credentialed and privileged, as well as how to manage timelines and ensure scopes of practice are clearly defined, according to the release.

“The 2025 edition provides updated resources, while outlining the steps to develop and sustain a robust process, that align with AAAHC standards and regulatory requirements,” said Julie Lynch, director of the Institute for Quality Improvement for AAAHC, in the release. “This toolkit is more than a resource; it’s a roadmap to protect patients and support professional accountability.”

The toolkit also emphasizes the importance of maintaining up-to-date credentials and privileges, especially for organizations not using credentialing software. It reinforces that compliance is not only required by regulatory bodies but is essential to a culture of professional trust and high-quality care.

The full AAAHC toolkit collection, including the 2025 Credentialing and Privileging Toolkit, can be found at https://store.aaahc.org/toolkits. Additional information on AAAHC programs, client education and accreditation services is available on the AAAHC website.