Wiki CPC Exam Tips -Medical terminology

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aneilso1

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Hi,

I've learned a few things when I retook my CPC exam.
It helps to divide your exam in to sections when taking it.

I did . . .
1. Medical terminology first (my strongest subject)
2. HCPCS second
3. ICD-9 CM third
4. CPT last & went in order (weakest subject)

I circled my answers in my test booklet, which helped me to stay more oraganized, especially when I marked a wrong answer. I was able to change it.

Someone else I heard had circled their answers in their test booklet first & then filled in their bubble sheet. This is a good way, if you're confident that you can finish in time.

I wish you the best of sucess when taking your CPC or any coding exam.

:) Angela S.
 
I retook my exam on November 2nd and happily, I passed! I did pretty much the same thing you did as far as which order I did the sections in and I found it saved me a lot of time to get the easier stuff out of the way.

I would also highly recommend taking the Blitz Course through www.codingcertification.org. I bought the videos and reviewed them several times and I did not retake the exam until I could pass the practice exams.
 
I am going to take my exam on 12/7/13. I have not had formal training; I have always learned on the job. (yes I do have my AARP card) I am going to try your method because it makes common sense to do it that way. I am however worried about TIME. How did you do with the time factor?

Suanne
 
CPC Exam Tips

By skipping around in the book and doing the easier stuff first, you will save yourself on time. Also, it helps to calm the nerves too. I passed my test on my first try by following these tips. Doing the medical terminology first, then the coding rules, and then doing the sections I knew better than the others next. I jumped around the book alot, but I finished with 20 minutes to spare.
I would cross off the ones in the book when I wrote the answer on the key sheet and circled the ones that I wanted to come back to.
 
Are there any study guides that you can recommend that are helpful for the CPC exam?

Thanks!
 
I purchased the practice tests from AAPC and these were very helpful in preparing for the exam. It helped me to work on my time and also on narrowing down the answer if I didn't know it. I would work on one test every week, and then the last month before I took my test, I would do the practice tests every other day.
 
The practice tests are very helpful if you are worried about your time consumption you can use them as a tool to find your average time and will allow you to work confidently through your test knowing the pace that you need to keep. My instruction also advised to work back to front as the easier questions or at least the less time consuming the questions. Good luck!
 
Just took my cpc exam for the first time after graduating and didnt pass it. My second attempt is in june. Any tips or suggestions on how to pass my exam? Thank you all.
 
loher said:
Just took my cpc exam for the first time after graduating and didnt pass it. My second attempt is in june. Any tips or suggestions on how to pass my exam? Thank you all.
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Make yourself VERY familiar with those books. All of the answers are there, it is just a matter of finding them in the allotted time. I cannot stress that enough. There are no trick questions, but there are ones that you may have never seen before or heard before. If you are familiar with where certain topics are in the books, then you will know to look in that area.
 
loher said:
Just took my cpc exam for the first time after graduating and didnt pass it. My second attempt is in june. Any tips or suggestions on how to pass my exam? Thank you all.
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The answer to this would vary from student to student. For example, if you struggled with time management, focus on that. Go through the entire exam. Skip/flag any time consuming questions. Skip/flag any questions you are unsure of, crossing out any definitely incorrect. Once you have gone through the exam, then go back and answer the ones you skipped.
I know when I took the exam, I received not just a final score, but a score for EACH section. Focus some studying on the sections you did the poorest on. If you were close to passing, grasping additional knowledge in your 2 lowest scoring sections could make the difference.
As already pointed out, there are not trick questions. And it's multiple choice. So if you are unsure, at least eliminate answers that you know are incorrect. Especially for the surgery case questions, it's quickest to look at the possible answers vs coding it all yourself.
Mark up your books. If there's a guideline, note the page in the diagnosis section. You don't need to memorize any guideline, but you do need to recall that there is a guideline and quickly locate it.
I never used it (never even heard of it when I was studying), but I know a lot of students swear by the BHAT (bubble, highlight & annotate technique) system. Watch some YouTube videos and if it helps, it's time well spent.
PS - My personal opinion is that you should take your next try sooner than 3 months, unless you have a lot of studying to do.
Good luck!
 
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