Certified Internal Medicine Coder (CIMC™)
The Certified Internal Medicine Coder exam was developed by a team of leading internal medicine coding professionals. Those coders with sufficient experience and expertise in internal medicine coding are encouraged to sit for the CIMC™ exam.
The CIMC™ 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)
- 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 an internal medicine practice such as venipuncture, injections, vaccinations, etc.
- Coding of minor surgical procedures performed in an internal medicine practice such as trigger point injections, joint injections, skin tag removals, etc.
- 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
- $245.00
- Open code book (manuals)
Reviewed by a Internal Medicine Steering Committee:
- Kelli Annis, CPC®, CEDC, CIMC, CEMC, CPMA®
- Bruce Rappoport, MD, CPC®, CIMC
- Lisa Sowers, CPC®, CIMC, CEMC
- Jill Young, CPC®, CIMC, CEDC
- Carrie Severson, BSN, CPC®, CPC-H®, CPC-I®
- Jackie Stack, CPC®, CPC-I®, CEMC, CFPC, CIMC, CPEDC, CPC®, 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 Coding Edge within three months of their examination date and will receive a diploma suitable for framing.
AAPC has developed a specialty study guide and an online practice exam which are specifically designed to help individuals prepare for this specialty certification exam.
Study guide includes practical examples; including an E/M chapter with examples that are specialty specific, using 1995 and 1997 CMS Documentation Guidelines. Also included is a 35 question test your knowledge exam with answers and rationales.
Online practice exam has 50-questions that simulate the question format of the specialty certification exam. Questions are graded instantly and rationales provided.
Questions in study guide and online practice exam are designed to mimic the specialty certification exams and written by the same task force who wrote the specialty certification exam.
Purchase the Study Guide and/or Online Practice Exam
CIMC™ Study Guide + Online Practice Exam -
$149.95 (
Members: $89.95)
CIMC™ Online Practice Exam Only -
$59.95 (
Members: $29.95)
CIMC™ Study Guide Only -
$99.95 (
Members: $69.95)
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CIMC™ (Internal Medicine)
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$245
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Specialty study guides and online practice exams are for individual use only. Access to online practice exam is available for one year from purchase date.
By purchasing any of these items, you agree to the terms stated within the Refund Policy.
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:
Any officially published corrections or errata belonging to required references are also permitted. The AAPC uses only the current calendar year codes on all exams. Second attempt exams occurring in the next calendar year will not be permitted to take the previous year’s 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
