What's The Best Way To Prepare For The CPC Exam?

If you are preparing for the CPC exam, chances are that you seek certification to practice medical coding. As with any test, there are certain strategies you can use to help you along in the process leading up to the test. Not everyone passes the CPC exam on the first try and some people fail it many times over. You don't want to be one of those people.

Here are recommended steps in preparing for the CPC exam:

• Set study expectations. First, you have to define for yourself what the “best way” to prepare means. Are you looking for the preparation strategy that maximizes your chances of passing or the one that is the quickest? Without a thorough background in medical coding, you cannot reasonably expect the quickest method.
• Use a study guide. Because medical coding is such a popular industry, the AAPC (American Academy of Professional Coders) and many third party vendors offer a variety of official CPC study materials. Like with any other test, a CPC study guide will familiarize you with the level of content the test will require you to know. MCCP has a list of CPC exam study guides here in various price ranges.
• Take advantage of practice exams. Practice exams are strongly recommended by the AAPC itself for everyone – regardless of their medical coding background. Even if you are fluent in medical jargon and human anatomy, being unfamiliar with the nature of the questions and the time crunch of the real test can run you into the ground. Click here for a short list of recommended practice exams.
• Diversify your strategies. Generally speaking, the “best” way to prepare for the CPC exam is a multi-pronged approach: taking coursework to strengthen your content knowledge, using study guides to gauge the content requirements, and taking official CPC practice exams to learn the exam’s format.

While medical coding is a highly specialized field, it is important to treat the CPC exam like any other content-based test. Take time to develop a background in the subject, find out how much of the subject you need to know for the test, and familiarize yourself with the exam itself.

In Regard To Exam Prep Are CPC Certification Study Guides Necessary?

With medical coding on the rise, more and more online resources have turned up for CPC exam preparation. We have links to some of those study guides here.

The American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) is one particular organization known for its diverse and effective online tools, one of which is a CPC certification study guide.

A common question Internet users ask is “In regard to exam prep, is the CPC certification study guide necessary?” Much of the time, when people ask if something is necessary, they mean to ask if they can accomplish their objective without it.

Is it possible to pass the CPC exam without the certification study guide? Yes. But is it recommended? Not at all.

Sure, organizations might recommend programs or materials in order to fool people into spending money on things they do not need, but this is not the case here. The CPC exam is the gateway to a successful and stable career in medical coding, and the certification study guide is a critical tool to help a test taker greatly improve chances of passing the exam.

The AAPC highly recommends acquiring the study guide because it blends content knowledge with test taking techniques, making the test taker more likely to pass. If the test taker’s priority is maximizing the chance of passing the CPC exam, then the certification study guide is absolutely necessary. Here’s why:

• A background in medicine and/or coding does not guarantee you will ace the content. The CPC exam draws on areas of medical coding, so general and undisciplined knowledge will do a test taker no good.
• The exam itself has a specific set of requirements, and the study guide acclimates the test taker to these requirements.
• Utilizing the certification study guide will get you “in the zone.” The exam is five hours and forty minutes to answer 150 multiple choice questions, so the more prepared you are for that sort of endurance critical thinking, the better off you will be.

In addition to using a study guide, practice tests are extremely useful in gearing up for the actual test. Some of the smartest and most experienced people out there are bad test takers and practice exams help with this. Additionally building up your medical terminology and anatomy vocabulary can help a ton. See this post on prerequisites for more on building a foundation in medical anatomy.

Do You Need To Take A CPC Preparation Course before Taking The CPC Exam?

Medical coding is a complex career, meeting at a cross section of medicine, number analysis, and insurance billing. This is why breaking into the field is best treated as a thorough learning and testing process.

Like many certification processes in the medical industry, becoming a certified medical coder requires intensive examination. The exam itself has a duration of more than five hours and a blend of medical theory and coding systems. If you are looking to take the CPC exam, it is already sure to be a difficult path.

Thus, it is important to remember that taking short cuts is not the wisest way to approach medical coding certification. Do you need to take a preparation course before the exam? No, but it is strongly recommended.

Here are several critical reasons not to skip out on a preparation course:

1. According to the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), the only reason you should opt out of a preparation course is if you have strong and relevant experience or background in coding and medicine; even then, you still run the risk of having out-dated knowledge.
2. Coursework will require you to have current medical coding texts, and so will the test. Taking a preparation course will motivate you to acquire the right texts ahead of time and familiarize yourself with them.
3. If you pass the test and apply for positions in the medical coding field, it will be advantageous to have taken CPC exam preparation courses. It communicates to prospective employers that you dedicated yourself and invested in the certification process.

Ultimately, it is your decision whether or not to enroll in CPC exam preparation courses. Many test takers who opt out of preparation courses do so because they have interned with medical coders or do not wish to spend the money for courses. If you may be among such people, consider that nothing beats learning on your own accord and making the investment in your future.

Top CPC Practice Exams To Help You Pass The CPC Certification Exam

Some people are fortunate enough to be able to naturally test well. Others on the other hand need a lot of practice, even when they are well versed in the subject material.

Below are a select handful of practice exams you can take in preparation for the CPC certification exam.

If you have trouble with test taking or need a supplement to your CPC preparation courses I highly recommend taking a practice exam immediately prior to taking the actual medical coding CPC exam.

The following practice tests are filled with questions you might encounter on the real exam and should help you identify your weaknesses while refining your test taking strategy.

Top CPC Practice Exams

The Medical Billing & Coding CPC Practice Exam is a top exam provided by a third party. You can take the AAPC practice exams but unless you are a member the MB&C set of practice questions will be a lot cheaper.

What makes this practice exam the best deal in my estimation is that the exam does not only feature the answer key for each question but provides full rationale for the answers. This can help you understand the material better so that you can score better on the real test later on.

Click here to learn more.

CPC Exam Study Guides - Pass The Medical Coding Certification Exam On The First Try

Medical coders do not have to be certified through the AAPC however it is essentially an industry standard that virtually all employers look for in a coding environment.

The AAPC has a collection of study guides and pre-exam documents which have helped many people over the years. They are however expensive, even after the applied member's discount, and they are exhaustive.

This can be a great thing but for those who need the information in a more condensed and affordable product I recommend utilizing one or more of the following CPC exam prep guides.

Medical Coding Video Review Course

The videos in this package are complete and updated. There is almost 10 hours of videos online that you have access to and companion DVDs are mailed to you to watch from your living room TV. It will help you learn medical terminology, medical codes, and prepare you for all aspects of the exam in the most efficient way possible.

This video package also comes with telephone support for questions as well as access to a monthly webinar and it costs a fraction of the official AAPC CPC Preparation Course.

Click here to learn more.

The Official AAPC CPC Certification Study Guide

It's hard to beat the official study guide for the CPC exam than the guide produced by the test administrators.

This guide can be purchased on the AAPC website but it is only available at a discount to AAPC members. If you are not yet a member you can learn more about the official CPC exam study materials and buy the guide through the link below.

Click here to learn more.

The Carol Buck CPC Coding Exam Review

Less expensive than the official AAPC study guide, this guide written by Carol J. Buck, MS, CPC, CPC-H, CCS-P is a fine alternative.

Not everybody finds this guide more useful than the AAPC guide book but many do. It is written in a different style and coming from an outside source it has a different perspective on actually taking the examination.

Considering that this resource is a lot cheaper than the AAPC study book and that so many medical coders have used it in preparation for their certification testing it is worth checking out.

Click here to read more about this study guide.

Additional Exam Prep - The Practice Examination

In addition to a quality exam prep guide book you should also consider taking one or more practice tests. The CPC exam is a long test that costs a lot of money to take. Get it passed the first time and you'll be much happier.

See this page for more information.

Our Recommended Human Anatomy & Physiology Online Course

One of the most fundamental requirements of any medical coder is a substantial understanding of medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology.

No matter where you work, a physician's office, a hospital, or for a payer you will perform better at your job when you have a deeper understanding of the human body and medical terms.

The AAPC has an anatomy course available to memebers but it costs a substantial sum of money, even after the member discount. It's reasonable to assume that this course is the gold standard and is required but here at MCCP we belive that frugality is a virtue.

Dr. James Ross' Online Human Anatomy Course is a fraction of the cost of the AAPC's and it covers all your bases and should exceed your expectations.

At such a reasonable price it would be entirely odd to not at least take a look at it...

...of course many people do not need this primer course. Those who are already experienced or knowledgeable in anatomy and medical terminology should simply study and take a CPC practice exam, and then go pass the test.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Ross' Human Anatomy Course.

Can Taking A CPC Practice Exam Help

Passing the CPC examination is one of the major challenges that you have to face before you can practice in your chosen profession. But this examination alone is sometimes a hindrance in order for you to practice your profession and receive adequate compensation. That is why when you are planning to take the examination in the future, it is important that you take CPC practice exam first to ensure you are more likely to pass on your first try.

Without exception taking a CPC practice exam will provide you with great help. This is because such examination will give you the exact idea on how the examination will look like. In addition to that, this kind of examination will show you the possible questions that you need to answer.

After you spend some time studying for the exam you can get some more information by looking through CPC exam example questions. Ultimately however taking the practice test can also help in building speed and accuracy while studying for the real thing

Of course, see to it that you also do your best when you take this kind of examination. This is to determine if you have higher chance of passing the real CPC exam in the future. You can find such practice examination in many sites and in many local review centers. That is why there is no need to be problematic when it comes to the accessibility of such thing.

No doubts that when you take CPC examination, it will give you the information about the actual test you need to take in the future. In addition to that, this will also give you idea about the chances of passing the examination since this resembles almost the actual test. Make sure that you take advantage of taking this examination for your own and future benefit.

So, take a CPC Practice Exam now, and do your best!

How To Study For The CPC Exam?

During an examination, it is significant to consider some factors that will improve your study habits.

Consider where to study for the exam. A quiet place is conducive for studying to avoid unexpected distractions while studying. Make a schedule of your study hours to have a well-organized time management.

It is also a must to register for your examination. Most documents can be found on AAPC website. The AAPC must also receive all your personal details within four weeks, preferably before the schedule of examination.

Since CPC includes medical related questions, it is important to reassess medical terminologies and anatomy next to learning the procedures of your CPT codebooks and ICD-9 CM. Medical terminology is the main aspect that can fully change the way you handle various medical coding.

Understanding medical terminology provides a clearer understanding of code descriptions when studying, leading to more accurate and proper code selection, and teaches anatomy.

It is significant to have successful book selections during the review. Most of the answers are somewhere in the pages of the books. Other review materials relating to medical coding are also beneficial.

Don't study the night before the exam or in short avoid cramming. Give your mind a restful and peaceful sleep without worried feeling of cramming. It is very imperative to be mentally and physically focused for positive thinking during the test so rest is very important. The main purpose of this is also to avoid nervousness that might cause mental block of what you had studied.

With these simple tips, you are assured that you can easily study your CPC examination and advance your career in medical coding.