AAPC Exam Training

AAPC stands for American Academy of Professional Coders. The aim of AAPC is to provide education and certification to coders working in physician-based settings. AAPC CPC certification is more suitable for professional coding. Professional coding is the type of coding carried out in an outpatient as part of outpatient services. Some of these outpatient services require professional coding that includes emergency medicine, surgery centers, private practices, etc. Professional coders are known to work mainly in the doctor’s office.

Structure of the AAPC CPC Examination

The AAPC CPC (American Academy of Professional Coders Certified Professional Coder) exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions. Test takers have 5 hours and 40 minutes to complete the exam. Unlike many other certification exams, the CPC exam is an open book exam. In fact, test takers must bring copies of the ICD-10, CPT and HCPCS manuals to the exam.

The exam consists of 17 different content areas and each content area consists of eight to ten questions. In what follows, we break down each content area. We begin, by providing some general tips on how to prepare for this unique and challenging certification exam.

What is AAPC certification?

The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) will issue AAPC certifications to individuals who receive a passing score on the various CPC exams. The AAPC certification shows potential employers that you are educated in the field and have earned your badge of competence and dedication.

There are four primary AAPC certifications that you can earn:

• CPC
• CPC-H
• CPC-P
• CIRCC

The first three certifications we have listed are the basic Certified Professional Coder certifications. The CPC is for coders who work in a medical office and covers all of the basic aspects of the coding profession, such as coding guidelines, medical terminology, diagnostic codes, and more. The CPC is the most popular certification in the field, and is a great place to start.

The CPC-H is for outpatient department coders who work in a hospital setting. The CPC-P is for those who are employed by insurance providers, Medicare, or Medicaid. The fourth AAPC certification is the Certified Interventional Radiology Cardiovascular Coder (CIRCC). Those with the CIRCC certification are responsible for billing-related duties for cardiac invasive radiological procedures.

Beyond the four main AAPC certifications, coders can also pursue a certification in Medical Auditing, Medical Compliance, and the Practice Manager Certification. 

In addition to these primary certifications, coders also have the opportunity to increase their credentials and abilities by earning additional specialty certifications. These specialty certifications apply to specific areas of the medical field, such as surgery, cardiology, family practice, etc.

What is medical coding?

Medical coding is the transformation of health care diagnosis, procedures, medical services, and equipment into universal medical alphanumeric codes. The need for coding arises because the medical diagnosis and procedures are complex to understand for a non-medical professional so by converting them into standard universal medical alphanumeric codes it becomes easier for professionals like insurers to understand and provide appropriate compensation. The other purpose of coding is to transform the data form suitable for computer-aided analysis. There is a huge demand for medical coders in the healthcare industry. 

What to Expect and How to Prepare?

The AAPC CPC covers many topics. As a result, it is important to have a clear plan as you prepare for the exam. Among other things be certain to:

• Familiarize yourself with how to access information in all three manuals (the ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS). You’re not being tested on your ability to memorize thousands of codes but rather on your ability to locate these codes in an accurate and expedient manner.
• Bring all three manuals to the test—if you don’t, you’re bound to fail!
• You are permitted to bookmark frequently used sections of the manuals, so do so as you prepare for the exam. You are also permitted to make marginal notes on your manual copies.
• Since you won’t need a perfect score to pass, if a question is particularly long and complex, skip it and move on to the next question. Aim to answer at least 80% of the questions correctly, because you’ll need 70% to pass the actual exam.

Phone

+91 949 583 3319

Email

info@transorze.com (MD)
mentor@transorze.com (Director Training)
jyotsna@transorze.com (National Head)

Address

Transorze Solutions,
Minus 2, Thejaswini Building,
Technopark, Trivandrum, Kerala.