Conditional thumbs up for the AAPC CPC

Last Saturday I sat through the 5 hour and 40 minute AAPC CPC certification exam.  Yep, “ugh” would be the appropriate reply.  But I actually enjoyed it in some perverse way, probably because I did it for me, not because I had to.  I didn't need to go through this ordeal; I'm not a biller or coder.  However, I felt I needed to really dig deeper into coding in order to feel more confident when working with the business side of medical practices.  I can compare the experience to running in Iowa winters when it’s sub-zero and ice forms on your nose.  It’s really miserable at the time, but the payoff is running a Sunbelt marathon in March. 

The Certified Professional Coder (CPC) credential is bestowed by the American Academy of Professional Coders(www.aapc.com) to those individuals who, through an exam, demonstrate proficiency with the CPT, ICD, and HCPCS coding systems. 

To prepare for the exam, I purchased the AAPC "Official CPC Certification Study Guide", three of their online prep exams, and attended the local AAPC chapter exam review class.  Overall, I think these were good preparation tools and would recommend them for anyone interested in preparing for the CPC exam.  One note of caution, however.  I was disappointed to find a surprising number of grammatical and editing errors in the study guide.  I was able to catch these issues but those who are new to medical coding may be confused by them. The Study Guide’s review questions and the online review exams were spot on with regards to the real test, as well they should be since they were prepared by the same group that produced the certification exam.  So props to AAPC on that.

I selected the CPC over a competing coder certification, the CCS administered by the AHIMA (www.ahima.org), because I was not looking for a career certification.  I wanted a short, focused learning path.  And for that purpose, I can recommend the CPC.  For career coders or billers, you’ll need to determine for yourself which certification makes sense.  And there are lots of opinions out there on the topic.  For doctors and office managers, I do think that if you have a biller who is light on experience, or an office staffer who will transition to billing/coding, the CPC Study Guide and online practice exams would be excellent training tools.

I don't have my exam results back yet; it takes 7-10 days to get the results.  But I'm pretty confident I didn’t pass, which is ok.  Examinees are allowed two exam sessions for each paid registration.  And at my local chapter AAPC review class there were many people who had failed their first exam and were taking it a second time.  The way the exam is structured, the speed at which one answers questions is very important.  Given enough time, most of the questions can be answered by referring to the CPT, ICD and HCPCS coding books.  But with the time limit in place, it’s important to really know anatomy and guidelines so as not to waste time.

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s a balmy 49 degrees here in Iowa and I need to take advantage of this heat wave and get in a run.  And next week I’ll probably be hitting the books again.