CIRCC^® History
Over the past several years, there have been many new developments in the percutaneous treatment of diseases, as well as the rapid technological advancements in devices and procedures performed. Complex medical terminology, normal and variant anatomy, and knowledge of interventional procedures and related equipment is also required. CMS (Centers for Medicare or Medicaid Services) often has changes in the governing rules and regulations, CCI edits, ICD-9 codes and HCPCS Level II codes, while the AMA (American Medical Association) has many changes to E&M codes, modifier usage and CPT^® procedural codes, that all impact the final codes selected. All of the above factors combine to make this area at high risk for reimbursement errors and compliance issues.

Never before has it been so important to have properly trained individuals to ensure correct coding. This exam was designed to help the examinee understand and demonstrate mastery of these many challenges. Current trends reveal increasing numbers of percutaneous nonvascular and vascular procedures being performed in interventional radiology departments and angio suites, cardiac catheterization labs, endovascular suites, the operating room and in other departments and clinics performing non-vascular intervention. Charging and coding within the facility is often fragmented between technologists and HIM coders. Physician practice coding is usually through a single coder who must have a high level of expertise for accurate billing. Many physicians are combining cardiac and peripheral procedures during the same encounter for patient benefit resulting in additional complexities to accurate coding. With these influences in mind, the CIRCC^® credential was designed to cover all of these intertwined issues. The ultimate goal is for a CIRCC^® to perform proficiently and be comfortable whether working in a physician practice, a single specialty lab, the operating room, a swing lab, within the HIM department or the business office. This will make the credentialed examinee invaluable to both physician practices and facilities in striving to eliminate reimbursement and compliance errors.

Exam Requirements
Individuals wishing to take the CIRCC® exam are not required to hold a CPC^® credential. The only prerequisite is to include a letter of recommendation in your application from your supervisor or physician attesting to your current competency with interventional cardiovascular radiology.

• We recommend having an associate’s degree.
• Pay examination fee at the time of application submission.
• Maintain current membership with the AAPC.
  a. New members must submit membership payment with examination application.
  b. Renewing members must be current at the time of application submission as well as when results are sent.
  c. See “Fees for Membership and Examination” section for details.
• One letter of recommendation from employer or physician.
• Materials to Bring: Current CPT^® (AMA Standard or Professional versions only), ICD-9-CM, HCPCS Level II, Anatomical Charts to assist in catheter selection (labeled with catheter selectivity.)
  

Maintaining Certification
The CIRCC® (Certified Interventional Radiology Cardiovascular Coder®) credential is a "base" credential, with different requirements for CEUs. Each examination is separate and distinct from one another. To obtain all certifications, each examination must be taken separately and passed. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) submissions are required for all certifications. For CEU requirements please see our CEU Policy page.

We have contracted that the only companies that may provide training that will qualify for the 12 specialty CEUs required to maintain the CIRCC® credential are ZHealth Publishing, Medical Learning, Inc. (MedLearn), and Medical Asset Management. Other pre-approved vendors may provide interventional radiology training.

Approved Manuals for Use During Examination

• CPT^® Books (AMA standard or professional edition ONLY) no other publisher is allowed
• Your choice of ICD-9-CM
• Your choice of HCPCS Level II
• For the CIRCC® examinations you may use anatomical charts to assist in catheter selection (labeled with w/catheter selectivity.)

In addition, any officially published errata update sheets for these manuals may be used. No other manuals are allowed. Examinees may use current calendar year and/or previous year code books. However, it is strongly suggested that only current manuals be used.

Individuals with a solid understanding of coding fundamentals, anatomy, and terminology should be able to answer each examination question through application of the CPT^®, ICD-9-CM, or HCPCS Level II manuals, or through careful reasoning.

List of Approved Manuals

Non-approved Manuals for Use During Examination

Due to the advantages of additional information and/or ease of use, the following books cannot be used during the exam:

• Current Procedural Coding Expert^® - Ingenix
• Procedural Coding Professional - Contexo
• Procedural Coding Professional - AAPC
• Procedural Coding Expert - Contexo
• Procedural Coding Expert - AAPC
• CPT^® Insider's View - AMA
• CPT^® Plus! - PMIC
• Coders' Choice CPT^® - PMIC
• ICD-9-CM Easy Coder - Unicor

CIRCC^® Exam Breakdown – What You Should Know
The CIRCC^® exam:

• Contains 150 multiple choice questions
• Includes 5.5 hours to finish the exam
• Allows the current CPT^® (AMA Standard or Professional versions only), ICD-9-CM, and HCPCS Level II books, as well as anatomical charts to assist in catheter selection (labeled with w/catheter selectivity), to be used on the exam
• Price: $400

The CIRCC® exam thoroughly covers:

• Diagnostic angiography
• Non-vascular interventions (biliary procedures, biopsies, ablations, spine interventions, etc)
• Percutaneous vascular interventions
• Diagnostic cardiac catheterization
• Basic coronary arterial interventions
• ICD-9-CM
• Basic coding (E&M, modifiers, etc.)
• Anatomy
• Terminology

There are 150 multiple choice questions with the majority being in a case report format. Diagnostic angiography, non-vascular interventions, and percutaneous vascular interventions each comprise approximately 25% of the exam. Diagnostic cardiac catheterization and basic coronary arterial interventions cover 10% of the exam. Test sections on ICD-9-CM, basic coding (E&M, modifiers, etc.), anatomy and terminology each cover less that 10% of the test.

CIRCC® Exam Preparation (highly recommended):
There are several resources to help prepare for the CIRCC® exam. All are recommended to improve the likelihood that you can pass the actual exam. Please refer to our Prepare for the CIRCC® Exam page.