Getting Your Podcast Accredited for CME: Educational Podcasting 101
Can a Podcast Offer CE Credits?
Yes - your podcast can offer CE and CME credits.
For healthcare professionals juggling full plates, podcasts are more than just a source of inspiration - they’re becoming a powerful, on-the-go way to earn continuing education. Whether it’s during your commute, a walk around the block, or while prepping dinner, learning can fit into real life.
But turning a podcast into accredited education takes more than just hitting publish. There are requirements, processes, and standards to meet.
That’s where we come in.
At Learn at Pinnacle, we help podcast hosts, from brand-new voices to seasoned educators, turn valuable episodes into CE/CME-accredited learning experiences that count.
Creating a Podcast Worth Accrediting
You may be wondering: “What are the steps to having my podcast accredited?” The first thing you need to ensure is that your podcast is genuinely educational and structured in a way that meets CE standards.
Let’s get stuck into how you can achieve this:
How Do I Set Up My Podcast to Be CE-Friendly?
Here’s what makes an educational podcast CE-worthy:
Defined Learning Objectives:
Even if your tone is conversational, your episode still needs a clear purpose. Ask yourself:
What should listeners walk away with?
What new knowledge, perspective, or actionable skill should they gain?
Defining this upfront keeps the content focused and ensures that each episode delivers real value.
It also helps your audience understand why they should keep listening—and come back for more.
Credible Experts:
Both hosts and guests should bring legitimate expertise to the table. Whether through academic credentials, professional experience, or a track record of work in the field, your speakers should inspire trust and provide depth.
This credibility not only strengthens your content but also helps reinforce your authority with listeners who rely on accurate, reliable information.
Example: Pinnacle Prescription Podcast
In the Pinnacle Prescription Podcast, we speak with incredible women working in healthcare who are genuine experts in their field. Our hosts and guests include physicians, clinical researchers, educators, and industry leaders, each bringing years of hands-on experience and a deep commitment to advancing patient care.
We discuss topics ranging from cutting-edge medical research to real-world leadership in clinics and hospitals, ensuring every conversation is grounded in evidence, expertise, and lived experience.
This focus on credible, knowledgeable voices means our listeners can trust what they hear and walk away with practical, trustworthy insights they can use in their own healthcare journeys or professional practice.
Structured Content:
A compelling story can capture attention, but it’s the structure that transforms interest into impact. Organize your content around an educational arc that helps listeners follow along and retain what they’ve learned.
Use real-world examples to highlight key takeaways and keep your points grounded in evidence-based guidance. Case-based presentations are especially effective - they illustrate concepts in action and make abstract ideas more relatable and memorable.
No Commercial Bias:
All CE-accredited content must disclose conflicts of interest and avoid promotional influence to meet CE standards for unbiased education.
Transparency is essential when discussing products, treatments, or tools. Your content should be free from promotional influence and maintain an objective tone.
This not only builds trust with your audience but also ensures your content meets professional standards for unbiased education.
Pro Tip:
Think of each episode as a mini-course, covering a single topic in-depth and with expert knowledge. That’s the level of clarity and quality accreditation bodies are looking for.
Understanding Accreditation
Now that your podcast is CE-worthy, you're ready to consider accreditation, but this isn’t just about checking a box.
To get accredited, you need to align with professional standards to offer your audience genuine value.
So, how do you get accredited?
Standards You Need to Meet
Accreditation requires documentation of objectives, faculty, disclosures, and learner assessment. Standards differ, as different professions have different credit types and accrediting bodies (like the ACCME for physicians or ANCC for nurses), which have differing standards, but standard requirements include:
Clearly defined educational outcomes
Qualified planners and faculty
Documentation of planning, disclosures, and evaluations
Evidence that the content is free from commercial influence
The easiest way to cover all bases is to obtain joint accreditation, or work with an accreditation company like Learn at Pinnacle, which allows the majority of healthcare professionals to take advantage of your CE.
Other Baseline Info You Should Know
- CE podcasts need post-episode evaluations and/or assessments.
- Each episode must be tracked and documented like a standalone activity.
- You can tap into a system like Learn at Pinnacle’s to make this easy
- Your content must serve a professional practice gap, not just general interest.
Benefits of Accrediting Your Podcast
1. Attract a broader, more engaged audience
Reach beyond your current circle and capture the attention of motivated individuals who are actively seeking opportunities to learn, grow, and earn recognition.
By offering valuable, credit-worthy content, you position yourself as a go-to resource for those who are serious about advancing their knowledge and careers.
2. Boost your credibility
Share your insights, experiences, and unique perspectives to establish authority and trust. Consistently delivering high-quality, informative content helps solidify your reputation and makes you the expert people turn to when they need reliable information and guidance in your field.
3. Turn listeners into learners and loyal followers
Engage your audience with content that educates, inspires, and empowers. As your listeners gain value from what you share, they’ll keep coming back—and they’ll bring others with them. Over time, these loyal followers become your advocates, amplifying your message and fueling your brand’s long-term growth
Pro Tip:
Physician interactions with enduring materials (such as online courses and podcasts) grew by 120% in 2023 compared to 2019, indicating a sustained shift towards flexible, on-demand education formats. Source: ACCME
Accrediting Your Podcast
Once you’ve got a strong concept and format, it’s time to get your episodes accredited. You have two main paths:
Joint Providership vs Becoming Accredited
Joint Providership
This is the best option for most podcast creators. You partner with an accredited organization (like Pinnacle) that reviews your content, helps you meet CE standards, and issues certificates to listeners.
| Feature | Joint Providership | Becoming Accredited |
|---|---|---|
| Ideal For | Individual podcast creators | Organizations producing CE at scale |
| Accreditation Responsibility | Shared with Pinnacle | Fully owned |
| Setup Complexity | Low | High |
| Certificate Issuance | Managed by Pinnacle | Internal system required |
| Cost & Time Investment | Lower | Higher |
Becoming an Accredited Provider
This is typically a better fit for organizations producing lots of CE content, not just a podcast. It’s a more comprehensive process that requires systems for compliance, tracking, and reporting.
We go deeper on this path in our CME Accreditation Guide.
Example: Pinnacle Prescription Podcast
Hosted by Pinnacle's team, this podcast is CE-accredited for multiple professions. Each episode is carefully planned with learning objectives, expert guests, and post-episode evaluations.
Pinnacle handles everything from disclosures to certificates, enabling our educators to focus on what they do best.
How Do I Actually Offer My Audience Credits?
Creating great content is one thing- delivering CE credit is another. That’s where Learn at Pinnacle comes in.
We’re working on tools and systems to make it easy for podcast creators to:
Host CE-accredited episodes
Collect listener evaluations
Track participation and automatically issue certificates
Grant your listeners extra reflection credits
Ensure compliance with all relevant standards
Want to turn your podcast into a CE powerhouse? The Pinnacle Podcast Network may be for you.
Ready to get started? Get in touch with our team to explore your options. We’re here to help you design, accredit, and deliver real education - one episode at a time.
Interested in offering CE Credits for your Educational Activities?
Pinnacle offers Joint Provider services to non-accredited hospitals, private practices, medical societies and education partners in order to offer CE credits.
Learn more about accrediting your content