Certified Family Practice Coder (CFPC™) Credential
The Certified Family Practice Coder exam was developed by a team of leading family practice coding professionals. Those coders with sufficient experience and expertise in family practice coding are
encouraged to sit for the CFPC™ exam.
The CFPC™ examinee will be tested on:
- Ability to read and abstract physician office notes and procedure notes to apply correct ICD-9-CM, CPT®, HCPCS Level II and modifier coding assignments
- Evaluation and Management (both the 1995 and 1997 Documentation Guidelines). The examinee must know how to determine the level of history, exam and medical decision making in addition to the
appropriate level of service.
- Rules and regulations of Medicare billing including (but not limited to) incident to, teaching situations, shared visits, consultations and global surgery
- Coding of ancillary procedures performed in a family medicine practice such as venipuncture, injections, EKG, etc.
- Coding of minor surgical procedures performed in a family medicine practice such as lesion excision, foreign body removal, fracture care, etc. The examinee must know proper sequencing using RVU
(Relative Value Unit) when multiple procedures are performed.
- Time-based coding
- Medical terminology
- Anatomy and physiology
Locate/Schedule an Exam
Prepare for Exam
Specialty Exams
- 150 multiple choice questions (proctored)
- 5 hours and 40 minutes to finish the exam
- 1 free retake to be used within one year of first attempt
- $245.00
- Open code book (manuals)
Reviewed by a Family Practice Steering Committee:
- Debbie Cooper, CPC, CFPC
- LuAnn Jenkins, CPC, CFPC, CEMC, CPMA
- Ann Silvia, CPC, CPC-I, CFPC, CEMC, CPMA
- Michael Stearns, MD, CPC, CFPC
- Carrie Severson, BSN, CPC, CPC-H, CPC-I,CPC-P, CPMA
Specialty exams aptly measure preparedness for “real-world” coding by being operative/patient-note based. In addition to questions regarding the correct application of ICD-9-CM,
CPT®, HCPCS Level II and modifier coding assignments, examinees will also be tested on specialty-specific coding and regulations.
Requirements
- Must schedule examination four weeks in advance
- Must have current AAPC membership
- While there is no requirement, we strongly recommend that the candidate has at least two years of experience in the specialty. Please be aware that these are difficult, high-level
examinations not meant for individuals with little, limited or no coding experience
Recognition
Examinees that pass a Specialty certification examination will receive recognition in the Cutting Edge within three months of their examination date and will receive a diploma suitable
for framing.
Approved Manuals for Use During Examination
Required References:
- 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
Highly Recommended References:
Optional References:
- One reference of your choice
Note:
Electronic devices with an on/off switch (cell phones, smart phones, tablets, etc.) are not allowed into the examination room. Failure to comply with this policy may result in disqualification
of your exam.
Any officially published errata for these manuals may also be used. No other manuals are allowed. Each code set is updated annually; it is essential that examinees use the current calendar
year's coding manuals when taking the certification exam.
Non-Approved Manuals for Use During Examination
Due to the advantages of additional information and/or ease of use, the following references 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