Wiki CPCO Exam? - Anyone here CPCO Certified

[stocki_stev]

Anyone here CPCO Certified? Just curious as to any comments/suggestions you could give me regarding the exam.

My background is,
I have my masters in accounting.
Certified Internal Auditor
And 1 year experience in HealthCare Auditing.

 

[Jennycpc4u]

Hey - I just sat for and passed the exam. I was thrilled to pass. It is hard, I will admit to that. I purchased the study guide and it helped. I did not have publications to take in with me so I printed documents by topic from CMS and then put them in binders with labels. I had 3 binders with me for the exam. You will need documents to refer to. Or, at least I did. I would suggest you go through the topic/question listing that is on line on this AAPC site. They tell you how many questions they have on each subject/law on the test. That's what I did and printed documents regarding each of those items listed. It really helped..............best of luck to you on taking the exam. Study, take your binders and you will do fine, I am sure

 

[Sueedwards]

I took the exam last year, and I am saying - not to scare you- this was the hardest test I have ever taken.

STudy study study..... and read every question twice....

Good LUck!!

oh, i did fail....

Susan

 

[AuditU]

CPCO exam materials

Thank you for posting what materials that you were able to take in with you. I am going to take the CPCO in April and I also ordered the study guide and have been printing off the recommended resources from each section. I was wondering if they would allow us to bring in the binders that we make.

Thanks again for confirming!

Hey - I just sat for and passed the exam. I was thrilled to pass. It is hard, I will admit to that. I purchased the study guide and it helped. I did not have publications to take in with me so I printed documents by topic from CMS and then put them in binders with labels. I had 3 binders with me for the exam. You will need documents to refer to. Or, at least I did. I would suggest you go through the topic/question listing that is on line on this AAPC site. They tell you how many questions they have on each subject/law on the test. That's what I did and printed documents regarding each of those items listed. It really helped..............best of luck to you on taking the exam. Study, take your binders and you will do fine, I am sure

 

[amaceira]

CPCO exam material

I have more than 5 years in Healthcare Compliance and I am in the process of certifying for CPCO.
I am concerned about if we are allow to bring notes or our own study guides to the exam?
And why people are doing research on study material outside AAPC material that is given when you enroll in this course?

 

[pmitch06]

Recently taken the CPCO exam ?

Hello,

I am wondering what materials are allowed to be brought into the exam ? I have read older posts but want to be sure for 2018 what i can take into the exam.
Currently i have a couple of binder started based off the AAPC cpco suggestion testing but not sure if thats allowed. Any advise would be a help.

 

[jayr410]

CPCO Exam

Hello All,

I noticed that there were many questions in this thread about the CPCO Certification Exam for 2018. Since I just took mine on 4/20/18 (for the second time!!) -I figured I can give you guys some helpful pointers.

For starters, anyone taking the CPCO exam can pretty much bring any documents that isn't the actual study guide provided by AAPC or anything by the HCCA (Health Care Compliance Association) -for obvious reasons. Other than that, you can bring as many documents as you need to refer to. A rule of thumb, you can actually use the resources that are embedded within the study guide. I'm not sure if any of you took the CPCO prep course with AAPC, but I did and in every chapter -there were links listed as a reference. These are the documents that you can print out and bring into the examination room with you!

Also, on the AAPC main page, you can click on the CPCO under certifications, once that opens up, scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says "the CPCO Certification Exam". There is a tab that says "Approved Manuals" -once you open this tab click on the link "additional prep methods". Now .....this may seem overwhelming BUT -here is ALL the material that will be in the exam. They recommend that you print these and organize them into a binder to take with you as a reference. I personally had a 4 inch binder that was busting at the seams I had so much paper in it. I read every single document (within a 5 to 6 months span) and I also tabbed all the important sections for easy access during the exam. This may seem like a lot but once you've read the documents become familiar with the material -you'll know where to go to find it during the exam. I failed on my first try by 8 points but I realized that there were a lot of docs that I was missing. This time -I was overly prepared and finished with 1 minute to spare!!!!! Hopefully, I'll get good news in another week or so.

I hope all of this info helps!!!!! Good luck guys!!!!!!

-Jay

 

[stevesusan09]

CPCO exam

Thank you for the helpful hints. I am going to be more prepared with a bigger binder. Thanks all. I dont feel so bad now.

 

[klindsley]

CPCO exam

I took the exam last Saturday and passed! I made one binder and followed the test question breakdown section for my documents. I heavily highlighted my OIG guidance so I could easily find it and I had summaries of everything else. And lots of labeled tabs. I felt a lot of the questions were taken from the practice exam and the CPCO course chapter tests.
Hope that helps,

Kathryn Lindsley CPCO, CPMA, CEMC, CCS-P

 

[anitabanita1]

Extra help

Do you have your old binder, or the other links that helped you on the exam? Could you provide an index list of how you tabbed as well. My husband works for FedEx, he could make a copy of the binder if I could borrow it?

Thanks
Anna
anitabanita89@gmail.com

 

[hauthhouse]

help

I took the exam last Saturday and passed! I made one binder and followed the test question breakdown section for my documents. I heavily highlighted my OIG guidance so I could easily find it and I had summaries of everything else. And lots of labeled tabs. I felt a lot of the questions were taken from the practice exam and the CPCO course chapter tests.
Hope that helps,

Kathryn Lindsley CPCO, CPMA, CEMC, CCS-P

can you share how you brokedown your binder and what you highlighted in the OIG guidance? I am a bit overwhelmed with the amount of material that is out there and not sure what is relevant.

 

[Kieferz]

Im confused because it now says on the "approved references" that the only thing they allow you to take in with you are the OIG CPG, so does that mean that they no longer allow you to take in the rest of the "additional reference material"?

 

[cfassett001]

Im confused because it now says on the "approved references" that the only thing they allow you to take in with you are the OIG CPG, so does that mean that they no longer allow you to take in the rest of the "additional reference material"?

I was wondering the same thing. I believe they have changed what is allowed for the exam and it now limits you to the OIG guidelines. That scares the pants off me! I was thinking about taking this exam but there is so much material on it and now we aren’t allowed to bring a binder full of references.

 

[reju4nate]

CPCO exam

I took the exam last Saturday and passed! I made one binder and followed the test question breakdown section for my documents. I heavily highlighted my OIG guidance so I could easily find it and I had summaries of everything else. And lots of labeled tabs. I felt a lot of the questions were taken from the practice exam and the CPCO course chapter tests.
Hope that helps,

Kathryn Lindsley CPCO, CPMA, CEMC, CCS-P

Can you share your test breakdown?

 

[Pathos]

I haven't taken the CPCO exam yet, however my understanding is that it is one of the harder AAPC exams out there, just because of the volume of material you need to be familiar with. While AAPC does give you a list of approved references, I would highly recommend getting the Study Guide and the Practice Exams if you are nervous. Preparing for this exam should start early, since you need to know a lot of resources.

Here is what AAPC has listed on the CPCO page:

Approved References for use during Examination
Reference materials are not required to take the CPCO exam. If the examinee prefers to bring a reference, the following references are allowed and should only be printed directly from the official websites. Notes are only allowed on the printed side of the documents:

• OIG Supplemental Compliance Program Guidance for Hospitals.
• OIG Compliance Program for Individuals & Small Group Physician Practices.
• OIG Compliance Program Guidance for Third-Party Medical Billing Companies.

Additional CPCO resources

Good luck!

 

[Sperlisha]

Can you share your test breakdown?

I really need help, I need to brush up on the material before I sit for the exam. I have everything except Chapter 4 of the study guide. Do you have access to share this please?

 

[Sperlisha]

I really need help, I need to brush up on the material before I sit for the exam. I have everything except Chapter 4 of the study guide. Does anyone have access to share this please?

 

[reju4nate]

I took this test on the 19th and am excited to say I passed. You're absolutely only allowed the three OIG guidance as reference. The test was pretty hard and i'd already planned on retesting in December. Happy to say I don't have to. The study guide and mostly the quizzes were helpful for me mainly as a guide to help me highlight the OIG program references as well as write notes. I would also to make sure and write notes on CLIA, OSHA, Incident-to, RACS, etc. I also googled a quizlet.

I feel like the best thing you can do is read through, highlight, and write notes. Get familiar enough with the OIG so that you know/remember which topics are on which pages so you find sections and read through quickly. Use common sense to narrow down your reasonable choices/answers to questions. Trust your gut with your answers because overthinking might have you changing a correct answer to an incorrect one.

 

[salmonte]

Congrats... I too found Quizlet (digital flash cards) very helpful.

 

[tfiller1]

CPCO-
I have finally passed this certification after 4 attempts. 2 with over 7000 pages of tabbed and organized binder documents that I rolled in with and then 2 with only the 3 OIG permitted documents that have recently been approved. It is incredibly tough and I have over 23 years experience in Pharmaceutical industry corporate compliance! Admittedly, I thought it would be a breeze, but found out very quickly there is so much more to it all. Study the guidebook, read ALL of the suggested reference materials and put notes on those 3 OIG documents that will help you with those other areas such as OSHA, RACS, MACs and CLIA. Review every single question very thoroughly and rule out all the wrong answers.
Hang in there and stay focused.

 

[Mkreubel]

CPCO-
I have finally passed this certification after 4 attempts. 2 with over 7000 pages of tabbed and organized binder documents that I rolled in with and then 2 with only the 3 OIG permitted documents that have recently been approved. It is incredibly tough and I have over 23 years experience in Pharmaceutical industry corporate compliance! Admittedly, I thought it would be a breeze, but found out very quickly there is so much more to it all. Study the guidebook, read ALL of the suggested reference materials and put notes on those 3 OIG documents that will help you with those other areas such as OSHA, RACS, MACs and CLIA. Review every single question very thoroughly and rule out all the wrong answers.
Hang in there and stay focused.

Hi Tfiller Congrats! I am taking my test next week ! I have been studying forever! regarding the 3 OIG documents we can write note regarding the other areas? can you show me an example? best regards!

 

[angieanders77@yahoo.com]

i just passed mine 2 weeks ago .... you CANNOT bring binders or notes . You can only bring 3 resources from the OIG website . The three resources are named under allowed resources for test. Yes this was a very hard test i studied for 3 months and purchased the study guide with practice test .

 

[itsjussms]

I took the exam last year, and I am saying - not to scare you- this was the hardest test I have ever taken.

STudy study study..... and read every question twice....

Good LUck!!

oh, i did fail....

Susan

SAME HERE SUSAN, I TOOK IT AND FAILED , TOOK PRACTICE TESTS AND STUDIED .. THE QUESTIONS ARE VERY CONFUSING AND TRICKY

 

[mgregory]

I have been certified since November and I took pretty much the entire time to take it. I am also a nurse and it was harder than boards!! Study and highlight the resources that you are able to take with you a lot. I went through each chapter carefully prior to taking the exam. Good Luck!

 

[janicemarie1202]

I just signed up for the CPCO program. I am a Compliance Manager in the Pharmaceutical industry with prior experience in IRB Human Subject Research and Compliance in Higher Education. While I am looking forward to the challenge, I am also very nervous about the test. After reading all of the posts, I will be sure I am very ready before I proceed with testing. Thanks for all the comments!!

 

[Raycooper123]

I am disappointed by these posts. I was actually looking forward to signing up for this course but if it is as difficult as these posts make is seem - it is not my cup of tea. I like to be challenged but am not setting myself up for failure. I wonder why they make is so difficult. Oh well - spend my thousand bucks on something else.

 

[marquita.m.green@gmail.com]

I am disappointed by these posts. I was actually looking forward to signing up for this course but if it is as difficult as these posts make is seem - it is not my cup of tea. I like to be challenged but am not setting myself up for failure. I wonder why they make is so difficult. Oh well - spend my thousand bucks on something else.

The course is only as hard as you make it. I haven't sat for my exam yet but I can tell you this if this is something you really want to do take the course just take your time.

 

[SMillerAC3]

SAME HERE SUSAN, I TOOK IT AND FAILED , TOOK PRACTICE TESTS AND STUDIED .. THE QUESTIONS ARE VERY CONFUSING AND TRICKY

I failed mine the first time too. Just took it again on Saturday. Fingers crossed!

 

[marquita.m.green@gmail.com]

I failed mine the first time too. Just took it again on Saturday. Fingers crossed!

Did it seem harder this time? I'm scheduled to take it for 1st Oct. 17 and scared

 

[SMillerAC3]

It actually seemed easier to me this time, like I felt more comfortable, but everyone is right about really know the RAC and Auditing information. I don't know if I passed but I am going to take it again if I don't. As a note I have no RCM experience, zero, I don't know anything about coding or billing so this is all totally new information to me. I am actually a HRIS & Payroll Manager that got the company compliance programs placed in my lap. YIKES!!

 

[SMillerAC3]

Don't give up! You can do it!

 

[marquita.m.green@gmail.com]

Thanks for the response. I worked in the field 5yrs with no certification so no giving up now that I have gotten this far. As of now my test has been canceled due to Covid-19, I take it as a chance for me to get more studying in. Again, Thanks.

 

[SMillerAC3]

I retook my exam and passed on the second try!

 

[lauram2]

I took my test a few weeks ago and passed on the first attempt. I highly recommend the study guide, highlight, and tab your OIG compliance guidelines, and take lots of practice tests. GOOD LUCK!

 

[mattie7632]

Ahhhh!!! They've cancelled the exam twice now due to Covid and I'm supposed to sit for it on March 6 leaving me just 4 weeks now to prepare. These comments have me scared! I thought I had a good understanding of this but jeez my time is up and I have to pass as my year is about up and there are no more scheduled tests coming up.

Anyone know if the test covers much of HR or OSHA stuff? They didn't have much of that on the 50 question practice exam so I've been trying to focus more on other topics.