CEU FAQ

CEUs | CEU Vendors | Conference | Workshops/Audio Conference

CEUs

What does CEU stand for?
Continuing Education Unit

What is a CEU?
Education needed by certified coders to show they are staying current on coding information.

What are the minimum amounts of CEUs I need to earn?

Why do I need to submit proof of CEUs completed through your website?
The verification process requires documentation of all CEUs earned from your most recent CEU submission. This helps ensure our members are getting quality education. 25% of members submitting CEUs are randomly selected for verification.

I am attending an event; how do I know if I can get CEUs for the event?
Go to our Approved CEU Vendors to access the list of approved CEU Vendors. There you can enter either the name of the event or the name of the sponsoring organization. This method of searching will show if the event has prior CEU approval from the AAPC. If you are unable to find the event, please contact us.

I teach at a post-secondary school; may I have CEUs for my teaching?
Yes, this does require prior approval. Visit theApproved CEU Vendors page. Open the Application tab and select the application for “Live or Recorded Live”. Mark that this is an Instructor application. Submit the completed application, a syllabus of your course and the titles of all curriculum used and you may receive CEUs for your time spent as the Instructor. An Instructor application is a FEE FREE application.  CEUs awarded are for the INSTRUCTOR only.

May I have CEU Credit for the courses I take at a post-secondary school/university?
If you are a CPC® credentialed member with the AAPC, the AAPC honors one CEU per hour of post-secondary education including diploma and degree granting programs that relate to healthcare, healthcare business, healthcare finance and healthcare management. Each CEU is earned based on transcripts showing the “clock hours” or “credit hours.” Clock hour CEUs are earned at the rate of 1 CEU per clock hour. Credit hours are earned at a rate of 10 CEUs per credit hour. In either case, the maximum number of CEUs that can be earned in this manner is 40 hours per year.

Credit will not be awarded for educational activities completed prior to certification.

Back to top

CEU Vendor Resources

How do I access an application for prior CEU Approval online?
Visit our CEU Vendor Resources page. Open the Application tab for easy access of “media specific” applications. Select an application according to the media of presentation:

• Live or Recorded Live, Seminars, Workshops, Courses including Post Secondary School Courses, and Audios
• Educational Publications and book-based Self Study Courses
• Online Education (curriculum that builds methodical brick upon brick, to tell a larger story)
• Newsletters and Magazines (comprised of numerous topics, advertisements, non-coding tidbits like surveys, interspersed with the articles; delivered via hard copy, email, or web based)

My company does in-services; may we offer CEUs for these?
Yes you may and the process is very simple. Visit our CEU Vendor Resources page, and select the application according to the media of presentation. Mark that this is an in-service. An in-service application is a FEE FREE application. If your in-service event is 1.5 hours or less, the PROGRAM GOAL gives space to write enough information that the credibility of the event can be recognized. If it is two hours or longer, please include a timeline with agenda statements for each time segment of the program when sending in your application.

What do you mean by rationales as curriculum?
We learn best by doing. Usually, a teacher is there to provide feedback as we learn. In the absence of this type of interaction, some other sort of feedback is necessary. Because learning by doing is so effective, many print and web-based curricula rely on coding scenarios to teach their students. A scenario is provided, and the reader is asked to code it or to answer the questions regarding the scenario. The AAPC supports this mechanism for teaching with one caveat. Feedback has to be part of this process. Questions must be followed by rationales. It does the student no good to simply be told that she chose the wrong answer; it's important to understand how to find the right answer. Therefore, any quiz, test or coding scenario that is a candidate for CEUs, either alone or as a component of curriculum, must contain rationales. Rationales should be enriching curriculum.

Should I send my PowerPoint presentation with the application?
For online self-study courses, the AAPC will perform a word count of your PowerPoint. The PowerPoint should be submitted in a form that a word count can be electronically calculated. If the CEU Analyst is unable to perform a word count, a visual review will be performed and CEUs will be awarded accordingly. If the PowerPoint is a part of a live presentation, send the PowerPoint and a time lined agenda of the presentation. If an audio accompanies your PowerPoint, please submit the audio along with the PowerPoint for review. CEUs will be based on the timed presentation/audio accompanying the PowerPoint. 

What do I do with the evaluation forms?
Sponsoring Organization: The evaluation form is for your benefit as much as ours at the AAPC. Please return only those forms with a qualifying statement to validate a selection of a one or two critique.

Attendee: You may mail or fax your evaluation form directly to the AAPC. The AAPC will notify the sponsoring organization of your comments. Your personal information is confidential and will not be shared. If the organization wants to talk with you, the AAPC will contact you with their request and provide you with their contact information.

What do I do if I have a complaint regarding an AAPC-approved vendor or their product?
The AAPC strives to "Uphold a Higher Standard" and expects the same from our CEU-approved vendors. If you encounter problems, please email your concerns to info@aapc.com.

Back to top

Conference

What does my conference registration include? All of the general and breakout sessions, and all of the meals during the program, including the member appreciation banquet lunch. Every attendee will also receive a conference T-shirt and bag.

What are the benefits of staying at the host hotel? You will be surrounded by your fellow conference attendees, NAB and AAPCCA board members, along with staff from the AAPC national office. It is also a great chance to meet new friends and catch up with all your conference friends from previous years.

Can I earn CEUs for my specialty credential? Yes, conference is a great opportunity to earn CEUs for your specialty credential. Sessions that qualify for CEU credit for specialty credentials are listed in the conference program.

Will I meet any of the National Advisory Board, the AAPCCA Board, and any of the AAPC staff at conference? Yes, both the National Advisory Board (NAB) and the AAPCCA Board are involved in putting on the conference and are available throughout the conference to meet and network with conference attendees. You will also have the opportunity to meet Reed Pew, President and CEO of the AAPC, along with other staff members from the AAPC National Office.

Where will I find my handouts for the conference? Handouts will be available two weeks prior to and three weeks following the conference. They are accessible to registered attendees conference web page (once you are logged in). If you wish, you can print out the handouts and bring them to the conference, but it is not necessary. Paper copies of the handouts will not be provided at the conference.

Back to top

Workshops/Audio Conferences/Webinars

How do I get information for a workshop – Where is it/What time?
Information about the workshop is listed for registered attendees both on the event web page (once logged in) and in the Purchases/Items section of "My AAPC" (which again requires log in to the aapc website). A description of the topic, location, and times will be listed there.

How do I register for a workshop?
You may register over the phone, online with a credit card, or you may mail in a check with the workshop registration form found on our website. You may also fax in the registration form with a credit card number. Registrations are not accepted without payment and we do not accept purchase orders.

How do I get the CEU’s for the workshops I attend?
The workshops are worth up to 6 CEUs. You will receive 3 CEUs for attending. You will need to log into your member area on our website to receive the pre- and post-workshop exercises. These exercises are worth 3 CEUs once completed – 1 for the pre-work, 2 for the post-work. You will automatically receive the appropriate CEUs when you submit the pre/post-work on the website. The certificate and index number provided to you at the actual workshop will automatically give you 3 CEUs when entered into the CEU tracker online. You will hold onto the certificate and only submit it if you are chosen for CEU verification.

Do I need to bring anything to the workshop?
You will not need to bring anything with you. Your name will be on the sign-in sheet when you arrive and your workbook will be given to you there. CPT®, ICD-9 and HCPCS are not required, but you are welcome to bring them.

Where do I find pre- and post workshop exercises for the live workshop?

1. Log into AAPC.com
2. Click on ‘My AAPC’ and then on "Purchases" under the "My Account" column.
3. Click on the "Workshop" tab and then the "Details" link next to the workshop for which you would like to find the exercises. You will find the link for those exercises there. You complete and submit these online – there is no need to print anything.

Can I cancel my workshop registration?
Yes, you may cancel at anytime. Contact us directly at 800-626-2633. If you cancel at least fourteen days prior to the workshop you may receive a refund less $25.00. In the event that a cancellation is received less than fourteen days prior to workshop no refund will be given. You may have a credit for a future workshop or have the workshop summary CD.

Is the workshop available on a CD?
Recorded 1-hour summaries of each workshop are available on-demand (as a streaming audio file or podcast with downloadable presentation slides) with registration. For an additional fee, an audio CD and printed manual may be shipped to you.

Can you guarantee my workshop registration before my payment has been received?
Because space is limited at many of our workshops, we can only guarantee registration once payment has been received.

How long is the audio converence and what time is the Audio Conference?
One hour. It begins at 1:00 PM EST and ends at 2:00 PM EST. There will be 45 minutes presentation time and 15 minutes Q&A. Do not hang up until the hour is over – the CEU code is given at the very end of the audio.

How many CEUs are the Audio Conferences worth?
The audio conferences are worth up to 2 CEUs. You will receive 1 CEU for attending and 1 CEU for completing the post-quiz.

How do I register for the Audio Conference?
You may register over the phone or online with a credit card or you may mail in a check with the audio conference registration form found on our website. You may also fax in the registration form with a credit card number. Registrations are not accepted without payment and we do not accept purchase orders

Do I need to have anything with me for the Audio Conference?
Only the purchaser of the audio will have access to this information – this person is your administrator and is responsible for distributing this information to you.
The purchaser/administrator will need to log into the members’ area on our website no sooner than 48 hours prior to the workshop to receive access to the presentation slides for the audio conference.

Click on ‘My Registered Events’ and view your present audios or click on “Past Events.”
Once you have located the audio you need the CEU’s for, click on “Details.” There you will see a link to the presenter slides if you would like to print them off to follow along with the presenter.

Here you will also find your post audio questions – do not print these out, you must submit them online.

The certificate and index number provided to you at the end of the audio will automatically give you 1 CEU when entered into the CEU tracker online.

You will hold onto the certificate in case you are chosen for CEU verification.

How does everyone listen to the Audio Conference (& quiz)/get their CEUs for the audio conference (& quiz)?
Only the person that is registered for the audio conference will have access to the audio conference materials (presentation slides and CEU certificate) in his/her member area. That person may forward the link to the quiz to other listeners within his/her organization prior to that person completing the quiz. You will then dial in on one phone line and listen together in either a conference room or on a conference call. Multiple phone lines may not be used. Anyone in attendance will receive credit for listening by entering the code given at the end of the audio into the CEU tracker. The quiz CEU is automatically tracked online once the completed quiz is submitted.

How do I get the dial in information/ pin number for the Audio Conference?
The audio conference information is only available on our website in the members’ area. Only the person registered/who purchased the audio will have access.

Click on “My Events” and view your present audios or click on “Past Events.”

1. Once you have located the audio you need the CEU’s for, click on “Details.”
2. There you will click on a link titled “Request Pin Number.” This will give you the dial-in number and the pin number for the audio.

How do I get the slides for the audio CD (note this is the CD, not the live conference)?
Presentation slides are included with the CD. You may access the slides to the audio conference in your member area.

Why don’t you give out the CEU code before the Q&A session?
The audio conference is pre-approved for 1 CEU for listening because it is 1 hour long. In order to receive that 1 CEU you must listen to the entire hour. This includes the Q&A session. It is a required session that is part of the education. No CEUs will be given to those that hang up before the Q&A session is completed.

My links don’t work – can you help?
The links will not be active until 48 hours prior to the workshop for security purposes. Contact the audio conference department if you are still having problems.

How do I receive reminder e-mails?
If you have registered for a single audio, the e-mail will automatically be sent. Please check your e-mail settings to ensure these e-mails are not being filtered into junk mail.

For year-long subscriptions, they will need to login to the members area of the person whose name the subscription is under.

1. Click on ‘My Registered Events’ .
   
2. Once you have located the audio you want, click on “Details.”
   
3. Click on “Request Pin Number.”
   
4. This will give you the dial-in number and the pin number for the audio. We suggest requesting the pin number immediately for each audio to which you are interested in listening.
5. This will prompt our system to send you a reminder e-mail with all of your audio links and dial-in pin number.

When I order an audio CD, where do I access the links for materials and post-quiz?

1. Login to your members area
   
2. Click on “My Purchases”
   
3. Click on “My Items”
4. Click on “Details” next to the name of the audio

Back to top

CEU Information - Members - CEU requirements for obtaining and submitting medical coding CEUs.

CEU Information - Vendors - Requirements for gaining AAPC approval for continuing education curriculum, events, content or programs.