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 CEU requirements 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. |
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:
Member Core Educational Content
Curriculum A
Coding/Billing
- CPT®
- ICD-9-CM (Vol. 1-3)
- ICD-10
- HCPCS
- Coding & Billing Policy & Procedure
Clinical
- Anatomy
- Physiology
- Medical Terminology
- Pharmacy
- Pathophysiology
Compliance
- Compliance Auditing
- Compliance Planning
- Self Reporting
- Compliance Training
Regulatory
- Medicare Regulations
- Medicaid Regulations
- OIG Work Plan
- MS Transmittals
- Teaching Regulations
- NCDs/LCDs
Data/Claims
- Data Management
- A/R Management
- Appeals
- Revenue Cycle
Insurer
- Payer Contract Negotiations
Related Core Educational Content
Curriculum B
Professional Self Improvement
- Communication Skills
- Management Skills
- Time Management
- Stress Management
- Employee Issues
- OSHA
- Workers Compensation Benefits
- JCAHO
As for the EdgeBlast and CodingEdge
The AAPC offers 0.5 CEUs for completing the test in each EdgeBlast twice per month for a total of 12 CEUs per year. The AAPC offers 1.0 CEU for completing the test in each Coding Edge for a total of 12 CEUs per year. Adding the two together, the AAPC gives 24 FREE CEUs per year.
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.
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. 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.
The guidelines for each year are explained below and will be honored for CEUs earned in that year.
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
2008:
- 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). Please note: CEUs earned from the Coding Edge and EdgeBlast publications are counted based on the issue date, not date of completion
- In-service events are each assigned a specific index number and CEU value
The EdgeBlast and Coding Edge
The AAPC offers 0.5 CEUs for completing the test in each EdgeBlast twice per month for a total of 12 CEUs per year. The AAPC offers 1.0 CEU for completing the test in each Coding Edge for a total of 12 CEUs per year. Adding the two together the AAPC gives 24 FREE CEUs per year.
Please note: CEUs earned from the Coding Edge and EdgeBlast publications are counted based on the issue date, not date of completion.
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 authors of the Coding Edge to be the most knowledgeable coders in their profession.
- To be considered as an author for Coding Edge submit the entire article, proofed and ready for publication, to the AAPC
- Authors will be notified via email whether or not their articles are selected for publication
- Authors will be notified which Coding Edge issues their articles will be published in
- 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 on local coverage issues or concerns
- Read your Coding Edge regularly so you know what’s already been covered and 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.
The AAPC accepts CMEs for CEUs and CEUs from AHIMA and CMS
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 one 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 the 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 one CEU.
AAPC Approved CEU Vendor List
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:
If your membership is due in the months below, two years of CEUs are due on your membership expiration date in 2009
- January
- March
- May
- July
- September
- November
If your membership is due in the months below, two years of CEUs are due on your membership expiration date in 2010
- February
- April
- June
- August
- October
- December
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 the 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 the 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.
Certificates
The 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.