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Hi everyone, I'm scheduled to take my COSC exam in person. I took my CPC exam online last year. I see that I can bring a reference guide of choice... does that mean I can bring the 2 volumes of specialty AAPC guides for Ortho? It says you can use those if you're taking the online exam but I am not sure what references we can bring. If anyone has any info they'd like to share, I would really appreciate it! I know I can use my CPT, ICD, HCPCS , and an EM audit tool. Just not 100% sure about references. Thanks all!
 
bbsullivan02@gmail.com said:
Hi everyone, I'm scheduled to take my COSC exam in person. I took my CPC exam online last year. I see that I can bring a reference guide of choice... does that mean I can bring the 2 volumes of specialty AAPC guides for Ortho? It says you can use those if you're taking the online exam but I am not sure what references we can bring. If anyone has any info they'd like to share, I would really appreciate it! I know I can use my CPT, ICD, HCPCS , and an EM audit tool. Just not 100% sure about references. Thanks all!
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Hello!

Yes, you can use an AAPC specialty guide as your reference of choice for an in person AAPC specialty exam. (I used the hematology/oncology guide when I took my CHONC.)

It would be one book that you're allowed, but from what I can see on the AAPC website the Volume I & II you referenced is one book perhaps?

2023 Orthopedics (Volume 1 & II) Coders' Specialty Guide - AAPC

This resource lays out every indicator you need for each code on a single page includes CPT, HCPCS, lay terms and official code descriptors.
www.aapc.com www.aapc.com
 
sls314 said:
Hello!

Yes, you can use an AAPC specialty guide as your reference of choice for an in person AAPC specialty exam. (I used the hematology/oncology guide when I took my CHONC.)

It would be one book that you're allowed, but from what I can see on the AAPC website the Volume I & II you referenced is one book perhaps?

2023 Orthopedics (Volume 1 & II) Coders' Specialty Guide - AAPC

This resource lays out every indicator you need for each code on a single page includes CPT, HCPCS, lay terms and official code descriptors.
www.aapc.com www.aapc.com
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Thank you for responding! Yes, I have that specialty guide. It is two physical books (although looks like one book from the link you shared) so I am hoping I can bring both books. Thanks again for your reply!! I appreciate your time :)
 
bbsullivan02@gmail.com said:
Awesome!! Thank you so much! Any other advice would be greatly appreciated! :) I have been doing Ortho for about a year but I haven't done many spinal surgeries. So I know I need to study those.
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Study spine but there won't be a huge amount of spine. If you are solid everywhere else and could pass if you miss one spine surgery question it will be ok. I think when I took it there was only one spine case. Just make sure you do all the practice exams that will show you where you have to brush up more.
 
Hello,

I am sitting for my COSC exam in a week and I am getting the pre-exam anxiety about literally everything, lol. I have been coding orthopedics for the last 10 years and have only just started to learn some spine coding which has been quite the challenge. I wrote a lot of notes in my book about my own practice's case scenarios for coding and highlighted a whole bunch of the codes I am not used to for my day to day (I mainly code literally everything else except spine) and hoping this is okay and don't get disqualified for that. When I sat for my CPC and CEMC, I had so so so many notes and diagrams drawn in my books and did not have an issue but that was back in 2014 and 2019 so I am hoping it will be still okay in 2023.

I'm quite nervous about the amount of spine questions there will be. On the study guide exam, there were only 4 out of 35 questions in total but on the practice exam there were quite a few spine cases.

Any sagely advice on how everyone else prepared in order to pass would be greatly appreciated!
 
sagiomavritis said:
Hello,

I am sitting for my COSC exam in a week and I am getting the pre-exam anxiety about literally everything, lol. I have been coding orthopedics for the last 10 years and have only just started to learn some spine coding which has been quite the challenge. I wrote a lot of notes in my book about my own practice's case scenarios for coding and highlighted a whole bunch of the codes I am not used to for my day to day (I mainly code literally everything else except spine) and hoping this is okay and don't get disqualified for that. When I sat for my CPC and CEMC, I had so so so many notes and diagrams drawn in my books and did not have an issue but that was back in 2014 and 2019 so I am hoping it will be still okay in 2023.

I'm quite nervous about the amount of spine questions there will be. On the study guide exam, there were only 4 out of 35 questions in total but on the practice exam there were quite a few spine cases.

Any sagely advice on how everyone else prepared in order to pass would be greatly appreciated!
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Not much you can do about it in week. If you are solid on everything else, you'll be fine. As above, it just depends on the year you take it think. Like I mentioned, I think there was only one big spine case on the test but I took that like 10 or more years ago now. I do remember a complicated foot and ankle case with a hallux valgus and multiple other procedures.
As long as the notes and highlights follow the rules in the exam requirements you should be fine.

If you have been coding solely ortho for 10 years and doing everything else, you are the person this test/certification was designed for. Especially if you already have the CEMC too.

Before I take an exam after all the experience, studying, etc. I take the practice exams in a mock timed exam session. I pretend I am sitting for the exam and set a timer. You could do this multiple times to get in the groove.
 
sagiomavritis said:
Thanks!

I've been studying since September so I am hoping that all the practice exams and spine cases I have been coding are enough to pass. I guess I'll find out soon enough if it will pay off!
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I agree. You will pass no problem if you have 10 years of experience. There were a handful of spine surgeries on the exam but I didn't find them overly difficult and I don't even code the spinal surgeries yet lol. So if you have actual experience, even just a little, plus the 10 years of everything else, you won't have to even look up all the answers. I only have one year experience coding in ortho or coding in general. I passed my exam with an 87% 😊

So needless to say, you got this!! I ate a decent breakfast and got there early so I could ease my nerves. It seemed to help. I took it in person so I packed my books and stuff up the night before. Deep breaths and confidence, you know your stuff and you will have plenty of time to get through those spine questions.
 
bbsullivan02@gmail.com said:
I agree. You will pass no problem if you have 10 years of experience. There were a handful of spine surgeries on the exam but I didn't find them overly difficult and I don't even code the spinal surgeries yet lol. So if you have actual experience, even just a little, plus the 10 years of everything else, you won't have to even look up all the answers. I only have one year experience coding in ortho or coding in general. I passed my exam with an 87% 😊

So needless to say, you got this!! I ate a decent breakfast and got there early so I could ease my nerves. It seemed to help. I took it in person so I packed my books and stuff up the night before. Deep breaths and confidence, you know your stuff and you will have plenty of time to get through those spine questions.
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Congratulations on passing!!

Thank you for your kind words! <3
 
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