AAPC CEU Information

CEUs Required to Maintain Credential(s)

Number of Certifications:	Number of CEUs:
One (1) Certification:	36 CEUs every two years If CIRCC®, 24 must be interventional radiology or cardiovascular coding* If specialty, 16 must be specialty-specific+.
Two (2) Certifications:	48 CEUs every two years If one is CIRCC®, 24 must be interventional radiology or cardiovascular coding* For each specialty, 16 must be specialty-specific+
Three (3) Certifications:	60 CEUs every two years If one is CIRCC®, 24 must be interventional radiology or cardiovascular coding* For each specialty, 16 must be specialty-specific+
Four (4) Certifications:	72 CEUs every two years If one is CIRCC®, 24 must be interventional radiology or cardiovascular coding* For each specialty, 16 must be specialty-specific+
Five (5) or More Certifications:	80 CEUs every two years If one is CIRCC®, 24 must be interventional radiology or cardiovascular coding* For each specialty, 16 must be specialty-specific+
* Once CIRCC® and/or specialty CEUs have been met, the remaining CEUs due can be obtained from any pre-approved program. + If CEUs have been pro-rated due to a corporate membership addition, this may exceed the cap of 80 CEUs every two.

CEU policies apply to the year in which the CEUs are earned, not submitted. Because CEUs can be earned over the course of two years, it is likely that multiple CEU policies may need to be followed. Please follow the guidelines, as specified in the year the CEU is earned, to ensure that your CEUs will be accepted.

The AAPC has adopted, and is phasing in implementation of a policy that streamlines CEU management for members. Our goal is for each CEU opportunity submitted to have a unique Index number to automate submissions and approval.

The guidelines for each year are explained below and will be honored for CEUs earned in that year.

2007: To qualify as continuing education, CEU events must have prior approval from the AAPC and receive a unique Index number that has been assigned a specific CEU value. Unapproved CEUs for events, workshops, seminars, inservices, teaching, publications or online learning after January 2007 are not accepted. For the year 2007, the AAPC will accept an unlimited number of summaries/scenarios.

2008: Currently we have books on the vendor list that have a wide range of CEU's assigned. The CPC committee met and discussed the fact that scenarios and summaries were very hard to measure for educational value and are a very limited method for progressing one's knowledge. The committee concluded that scenarios and summaries are all worth one CEU per submission, limited to three per year or six per every two years.

1. All publications will be awarded 1.0 CEU per scenario/summary with a combined limit of 6.0 CEUs every two (2) years (there is no limitation for Test Yourself quizzes).
2. CEUs will no longer be offered prior to certification. Continuing education begins after a member obtains certification
3. Index numbers for multiple sessions will be unique (e.g., unique Index numbers are required for individual AAPC National Conference break-out sessions). Be sure to collect all the numbers needed at your events.

AAPC is planning to launch a host of free or low priced on line CEU venues in 2008 to off set the change in policy. This does not negate work done in 2007.

2009: Summaries and scenarios, in current form will not be accepted after 2008. Instead, approved publications will provide a test and CEU certificate for those successfully completing the publisher’s test. This will ensure knowledge gained.

CEUs must be earned and submitted within your two year renewal period. Excess CEUs do not carry over to the next renewal period.

If the CEU tracker does not recognize an approved index number, submit the information using the option indicating no index number.

Twenty-five percent of all CEU submissions will continue to be randomly selected for verification of CEUs submitted on the CEU Tracker. Members should maintain their CEU certificates on file for at least six months beyond their renewal date so the evidence is on hand should he or she be selected for CEU verification.

See recent policy changes

Summaries and scenarios
Beginning January, 2008, members cannot submit more than three CEUs for writing summaries or scenarios.

For CEUs earned during previous years, members may submit an unlimited number of CEUs earned for writing summaries or scenarios. Coding scenarios and article summaries have not been assigned index numbers. When entering scenarios or summaries into the CEU Tracker, submit the information using the option indicating you do not have an index number.

Summaries and scenarios, in current form will not be accepted after 2008. Instead, approved publications will provide a test and CEU certificate for those successfully completing the publisher’s test. This will ensure knowledge gained.

Core Educational Content
Coders may claim all of their CEUs earned from curriculum A. Curriculum B can comprise no more than 33% (1/3) of the total CEUs earned per year. Therefore, if one core credential is held 12 of the 36 total CEUs due every two years may be from Curriculum B.

Education curriculum must be comprised of core educational content. Core competency is something that AAPC credentialed coders do at the core of their day to day practice. PRE-APPROVED core competency CEUs will be granted at 100% for education related to the following subjects:

As for the EdgeBlast and CodingEdge
The AAPC Offers 0.5 CEUS for completing the test in each Edgeblast X 2 per month for a total of 12 CEUs per year. The AAPC offers 1.0 CEU for completing the test in each CodingEdge for a total of 12 CEUs per year. Adding the two together the AAPC gives 24 FREE CEUs per year.

Authorship CEUs

• CEUs are offered to people who are not employed/contracted with the publication (Coding Edge) and who are not being paid for the work performed.
• CEUs are awarded to authors of articles published in the Coding Edge, regardless of general/specialty orientation.

Our membership relies on the education provided by authors of the Coding Edge to be the most knowledgeable coders in their profession.

1. To be considered as an author for Coding Edge submit the entire article, proofed and ready for publication, to the AAPC.
2. Authors will be notified via email whether or not their articles are selected for publication.
3. Authors will be notified which Coding Edge issues their articles will be published in.
4. Authors will receive a CEU certificate after the article is published.

CEUs will be awarded according to a word count of the final polished article. Word count increments are as follows:

• 500 - 999 words = 0.5 CEU.
• 1000 - 1999 words = 1 CEU.
• 2000 words plus = 1.5 CEUs.

No more than 1.5 CEUs can be awarded for a single article. Word count considers only your own curriculum, not links to source documents that can be accessed from the article.

• CEUs are awarded in 0.5 increments.
• An article awarded 1.5 CEUs can be split equally between 3 authors.
• An article earning 1 CEU can be split equally between 2 authors.

Guidelines for submitting Authorship CEUs on the CEU Tracker:

• No more than a total of 4 authorship CEUs may be applied to a member during a single year.
• No more than a total of 6 authorship CEUs may be applied to a member over the two year renewal period.

NOTE: What will make your article stand out from the rest?

• Pick a topic in which you have expertise.
• Narrow the topic so that you can cover it well in the space allowed. For example, instead of writing about “Coding Obstetrics” consider narrowing down the topic to “Ultrasound and Medical Necessity in Pregnancy.” That way, you can cover it thoroughly.
• Remember our readers live across the country. Refrain from focusing upon local coverage issues or concerns.
• Read your Coding Edge regularly so you know what’s already been covered, and so you can get a feel for what sort of topics are selected.
• Keep your sentences short and use your spellcheck. Have a coworker review your work for clinical accuracy.
• Cite your sources and quote experts in the field in your article to give it a professional edge.

Clock hours/Credit hours for post secondary education
If a student has an AAPC certification, the AAPC will accept as CEUs time spent in post secondary education programs, including diploma and degree-granting programs that relate to health care, health care business, health care finance and health care 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.

What CEUs are approved?

AHIMA CEUs
We offer CEU for CEU credit for all AHIMA audio conferences and workshops. We also honor CEUs from AHIMA for online self assessments. A certificate of attendance or completion is necessary to show participation, one hour of instruction is worth 1 CEU. AHIMA CEUs are accepted from programs sponsored by AHIMA national offices and the state AHIMA branches.

The AAPC does not accept CEUs from other entities that offer “AHIMA approved” CEUs. These organizations must apply separately for AAPC CEUs and receive an AAPC Index number and CEU value.

CMS CEUs
CEUs for CMS-sponsored Webinars and workshops are accepted by AAPC at a rate of one CEU per hour. These CEUs may come from CMS national or MAC offices. A certificate of attendance or completion with the CMS logo is necessary to show participation.

CMEs for CEUs
The AAPC will honor 1-for-1 CEUs for any live event offering CME credit. A certificate of attendance or completion is necessary to show participation. The certificate will give the total CMEs possible for the offering. Physicians are advised to claim only the actual hours they were present during the education. We ask that AAPC-certified members abide by this request also. One hour of instruction is worth 1 CEU.

AAPC Approved CEU Vendor List

Submit your completed CEU Tracker. Send supporting documents ONLY if you are asked to send them.

To report your CEUs, access your CEU Tracker and submit it online to AAPC. If the CEU tracker does not recognize an approved index number, submit the information using the option indicating no index number. You will need to submit supporting documents ONLY if you are asked to. Keep your supporting documents for six months as the AAPC may randomly select you for CEU verification.

If you are selected to submit your supporting CEU documentation please note that all certificates of approval must contain the index number (pre-approved by AAPC), name of sponsoring organization, title of program attended, name of speaker, number of CEUs approved and date of program.

Maintain a copy of the CEU certificate for your records. Be sure to use the CEU Tracker to easily keep track of your CEUs.

Original PDF certificates
AAPC accepts unaltered copies of the original PDFs. Exceptions include the name of the participant, the date of the event, and the index or catalog number if these items are not printed on the certificate in advance. Please do not alter these certificates in any other way.

Pay membership every year and submit your CEUs online via the CEU Tracker every other year.

CEUs are reported every two years on or before your membership due date. You must pay your dues every year, even on a year when you are not required to report CEUs. The year that your CEUs are due is based on the month of your membership:

For a list of all Pre Approved CEU Vendors please view the CEU Vendor List.

A vendor is the organization responsible for the advertising, marketing and sales of a product or event.

For information on becoming an approved vendor with the the AAPC and for a list of 2009 guidelines for CEU approval please view the CEU Vendor Resources page

Effective January 1, 2009:
Summaries and scenarios, in current form will not be accepted after 2008. Instead, approved publications will provide a test and CEU certificate for those successfully completing the publisher’s test. This will ensure knowledge gained

2009 Guidelines for CEU Approval

For the year 2009 The AAPC will not be awarding CEUs for publications or software considered to be a tool that a coder would or could use at her desk to perform her responsibilities. Examples would be CPT, ICD-9, HCPCS, desk reference books, and software containing reference material.

AAPC will award CEUs for 2009 Educational Publications and Self Study Guides as follows:

• 50 pages of curriculum plus a final test of 10 questions equals   1.0 CEU
• 100 pages of curriculum plus a final test of 20 questions equals 2.0 CEUs
• 150 pages of curriculum plus a final test of 30 questions equals 3.0 CEUs
• 200 pages of curriculum plus a final test of 40 questions equals 4.0 CEUs

The final test must be corrected online, or by the sponsoring organization, prior to the member receiving a CEU certificate of completion. The test must be passed by the participant with a 70%  score or higher.

Four CEUs is the maximum. More pages and more questions will not be awarded higher CEU value.

Monthly and Bimonthly Newsletters and Magazines will be approved as follows:

• 8-24 pages of education with a final 5 question test will receive .5 CEUs.
• 25 pages or greater of education with a final 10 question test will receive 1 CEU.

Weekly Newsletters will be approved as Bimonthly Newsletters, meaning that approvals will be given for only 2 weeks of the monthly newsletters. The vendor will be requested to submit  issue numbers or the dates of the issues they request CEUs for.

The final test for Newsletters and Magazines must be corrected online, or by the sponsoring organization, prior to the member receiving a CEU certificate of completion. The test must be passed by the participant with a 70% score or higher.

If a Self Study Guide is composed of coding scenarios, as a practice tool, each scenario must have rationale provided. The rationale will be considered the  curriculum, the educational component.  The coding scenarios must be corrected online, or by the sponsoring organization, prior to the participant receiving a CEU certificate of completion. The member must pass with a 70% score or higher. For An example of an acceptable coding scenario and acceptable rationale please call 1-800-626-2633 ext 155.

Seminars, and Teleconferences, will receive one CEU per hour of training.

Live, or recorded live, Workshops, Audio's, will all receive one CEU per hour of training.  In addition they may also receive up to .5 ceu for a pre test  and up to 1 CEU for a post test. Each test must be corrected electronically or by the sponsoring organization and passed with 70% or greater.

Self Study Web-Based Training's require a final test covering the entire curriculum to be corrected either online or by the sponsoring organization. The participant must pass with 70% or greater to be awarded the CEUs.

Effective January 1, 2008:
The following are policy changes that will affect the submission of Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

• All publications will be awarded 1.0 CEU per scenario/summary with a combined limit of 6.0 CEUs every two (2) years.
• CEUs are no longer offered prior to certification. Continuing education begins after a member obtains their certification.

Currently we have books on the vendor list that have a wide range of CEU's assigned. The CPC committee met and discussed that fact that scenarios and summaries were very hard to measure for educational value. Since a scenario is a scenario, they are all worth the same. Therefore one CEU per scenario. The AAPC limits the submission of scenarios to three per year or six per every two years because this is also a very limited method for progressing one's knowledge.

AAPC is planning to launch a host of free or low priced on line CEU venues in 2008 to off set the change in policy.

This does not negate work done in 2007.

Save $70 off on On-Demand Webinar