CEU FAQ

CEUs | CEU Vendors | Conference | Workshops | Webinars

CEUs

What is a CEU?
Continuing education units are required for certified coders to show they are staying current on coding information.

What are the minimum amounts of CEUs I need to earn?
The number of CEUs required is based upon the number of certifications an individual has earned. (See the table below)

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?
An instructor at a post secondary school may receive up to 16 CEUs per core credential during a two-year renewal period, for teaching a face-to-face course specific to the credential. This does require prior approval and the application must be submitted under the name of the college not under your member account. The syllabus of the course and titles of all curriculum used is required at the time of application submission; locations to attach this information are available in the application. The instructor must submit the start and finish date of the course.

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.

May I use education completed prior to obtaining my certification?
Credit will not be awarded for educational activities completed prior to certification.

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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?
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. Rationales should enrich the established curriculum. Proper rationales will be a detailed narrative telling the story of how to come to the correct answer. What follows are examples of acceptable rationales:

• Shortness of breath is documented. However, SOB is a common symptom associated with pneumothorax, and ICD-9-CM Official Coding Guidelines state, “Signs and symptoms that are integral to the disease process should not be assigned as additional codes, unless otherwise instructed by the classification.”
• When the cardiologist schedules an angioplasty, atherectomy, or stent procedure, it is usually based on a prior diagnostic cardiac catheterization. In these situations, it is not appropriate to code for a repeat diagnostic test. To be clear, it would not be appropriate to separately report catheter placement (93508 or 93510) or diagnostic coronary angiography (93545 and 93556) at the time of an elective coronary intervention.

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 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.

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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 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.

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Workshops

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 time 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. Registration is 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 4 CEUs for attending. You will receive 2 for completing the course post-quiz. The index number provided to you at the actual workshop will give you 4 CEUs when entered into the CEU tracker online. You may find the certificate online and only submit it if you are chosen for CEU verification.

Do I need to bring anything to the workshop?
Yes, you will need to bring your CPT®, ICD-9 and HCPCS books. You will also want to bring a pen/pencil and a highlighter. You will NOT need to print the workbook. A copy will be provided for you at the workshop. Your name will be on the sign-in sheet when you arrive and your workbook will be given to you there.

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/Items”
3. Click on the “Workshops” 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 option 4. 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 the workshop no refund will be given. You may have a credit for a future workshop or have the on demand version of the workshop.

Is the workshop available On-Demand?
Recorded 3-hour presentations of each workshop are available on demand (as an Adobe Flash presentation or podcast with downloadable presentation slides) with the purchase of a live workshop. There is also the option of purchasing the on demand presentation by itself. It is also worth up to 6 CEUs. Three (3) CEUs for listening to the recording, one (1) CEU for the pre-test and two (2) CEUs for the post-test.

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.

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Webinars

Can I test my computer system for viewing webinars?
Yes, by using the Webinar Test Tool, you can ensure you will have the best webinar experience available.

What computer system requirements are needed for viewing webinars or workshops?

• Adobe Flash Player 11 or later - Get the latest version of Flash Player here
• A broadband (high-speed) internet connection with at least 256kbps upload & download speeds
• Computer speakers or headphones for listening
• AAPC Webinars operate using ports 80, 443, and 1935. Please consult your system administrator to make sure these ports are open on your computer and network firewalls
• For a detailed list of supported operating systems, browsers, and internet connection requirements, please click here

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

Can I register for all the webinars at once?
Yes. We offer a full-year webinar subscription that also includes the on-demand webinars from the previous year.

How long will I have access to my webinar subscription?
Full-year webinar subscription access is good from January 1 to December 31 of the year in which it was purchased.

I have registered for a webinar, but how does it work?
View this webinar tutorial that will guide you through the entire webinar experience.

How many CEUs is a webinar worth?
The webinars are worth up to 2 CEUs. You will receive 1 CEU for listening (the code is given at the end of the webinar—be sure to remain online for the entire duration of the webinar) and 1 CEU for completing the post-quiz.

If I order a webinar, can more than one person listen to it and get CEUs? If so, how do they take the quiz?
Yes. Webinars are for personal or single-office (e.g. a conference room) use only and may not be rebroadcast, retransmitted, shared or disseminated. In addition, AAPC local chapters or other groups of individuals representing multiple companies or separate offices within a single facility do not constitute a “single-office” and may not share a single event or subscription webinar license.

Registrants can dial in on one phone line and listen in a conference room, but the webinar format is of much higher quality. 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 webinar into the CEU tracker. The quiz CEU is automatically tracked online once the completed quiz is submitted.

Only the person that is registered for the webinar will have access to the webinar materials (presentation slides and CEU certificate) in his/her member area. That person will forward the link to the quiz to other listeners within his/her organization. Recipients will then login and click on the link after logging in to access the quiz. They may NOT forward the link to the live or recorded webinar.

What time/How long are the webinars?
The webinars are one hour. They begin at 1:00 PM EST and end at 2:00 PM EST. Members should not exit the webinar until the presentation has ended. The CEU code is given at the very end of the webinar.

Do I need to have anything with me for the webinar?
You will not need to bring anything with you to the webinar. If you would like to take notes on the presentation slides, a copy of the slides can be accessed no sooner than 48 hours prior to the webinar. Click on My AAPC then on Purchases/Items, and finally on the Webinar tab. You will find your webinar in either the Upcoming Webinar section or in the On Demand Webinar section. Once you have located the webinar click on Details. There you will see a link to the presentation slides.

How do I get the links for the materials/post-quiz for the webinar?
The webinar information is only available on our website in the member area of the purchaser.

1. Log in
2. Click on My Purchases, then click on the Webinars tab
3. The webinar is listed under Upcoming Webinars or under On Demand Webinars
4. Click the word Details

How do I receive reminder emails?
Reminder emails are automatically generated two days before the webinar.

My links don’t work – can you help?
The link for the presentation slides becomes active 48 hours before the webinar start time. The link to watch the webinar becomes active 15 minutes before the start time. The links to rate the webinar, to take the quiz, and to print the certificate will become active as soon as the webinar ends.

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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.