What is the CanopyCredential bilingual medical proficiency assessment?

CanopyCredential is the only scenario-based, standardized language proficiency test designed to assist healthcare organizations in identifying Qualified Bilingual Staff (QBS) who can care for patients directly in a language other than English.

CanopyCredential is a bilingual medical proficiency assessment that allows clinicians to demonstrate their status as Qualified Bilingual Staff in accordance with the requirements outlined in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. It is the only scenario-based assessment designed for this purpose, meaning that it assesses medical-specific speaking and listening scenarios based on real patient interactions.

Anyone who takes the test receives meaningful feedback based on the Canopy Framework for Bilingual Medical Language Proficiency to support continuous improvement and informed decision-making.

In alignment with Section 1557 of the ACA, CanopyCredential measures a test-taker's bilingual medical skills including speaking, listening, sight translation, and sociocultural communicative competence. Test-takers can choose to complete both the medical Spanish and the medical English portions of the test, or you can waive out of the English portion based on your responses to a language background questionnaire at the beginning of the exam.

The test begins with a self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) that helps test-takers confirm whether now is the right time for you to take the test based on your individual needs.

After completing the exam, you will receive a Canopy Scorecard with a detailed description of your test score according to the Canopy Scale for Bilingual Medical Proficiency, which was adapted directly from the internationally recognized CEFR scale to create the only medical-specific language proficiency scale. More information about the Canopy Scorecard and the Canopy Scale is available here and in our Toolkit for Bilingual Healthcare Communication.