You can make brief notes in your book (not lengthy pages of information). You may also place tabs to mark the sections of your books.
You can't have any other loose pages or sticky notes.
Take the practice exams many times, within the time frame allotted to prepare yourself for a timed exam. If you consistently score in the high 80's, you're ready to sit. If not, spend some more time studying. I found the exam to be a tad easier than the practice exams, and the CPC-H was a bit easier than CPC (although I sat for the former after 21 years in the field....so it's hard to say).
Read and re-read the general guidelines in the front of all three books. Know what's in your Appendices. (tab these). Know how to sequence your ICD-9 codes. Know when to use modifiers. Be very familiar with antatomy & terminology, as there are very few lookup strategies for those unfamilar terms. You can sometimes check the CPT index, but not every term is represented in CPT. Also, there are general billing questions. If you're not familiar with the revenue cycle and the related terminology, brush up on that.
If you're more comfortable with HCPCS or ICD-9 than you are with CPT, sometimes you can eliminate answers by investigating those codes first. Then cross out any incorrect answers on your test, and focus on the remainder of the answers. Two of the four answers are clearly wrong. The other two are similar, with the difference being the correct answer. Sometimes it is one key word in the question that makes a difference, so I have some advice to keep you on track.....Read the answers first, go to that section in your CPT, ICD-9 or HCPCS books, then read the question. This way you're in the right area of your books before you start trying to figure out the question. If you do it the other way around, by the time you read the question, then get to the sections in your books, you have to go back and re-read the question. You've already wasted at least a minute here. Go to the answers first. I employed this approach, and finished with 35 minutes remaining.
Don't let yourself get distracted by others. I think that this is where a lot of people get themselves into trouble. I saw many other test takers bring in food and drinks, but I didn't find this necessary, and after all, it takes time to shove something into your mouth! Have a good breakfast, that should suffice. Some people suggest you bring colored markers, etc, but I didn't bring any of that...I just underlined key terms with my #2 pencil....changing pens/pencils is time consuming, and for me, unnecessary. The 5 hours and 40 minutes goes by fast, so you want to be judicious with every moment. The proctor will let you know when you have an hour left. We did not have a clock in the room, which was actually a good idea....I wasn't tempted to keep checking the clock, so I just kept working, and finished up with plenty of time to go back and re-reveiw the ones I was unsure of. You can't bring in i-Pads, smart phones, etc. where you could potentially look stuff up, and you have to shut off your cell phone. I don't know if this is a rumor, but I have heard that the proctor can dismiss you if your cell phone goes off during the exam. That would suck for everyone, believe me.
Above all, if you are prepared and focused, you will pass. Once you answer the first few questions, you will begin to relax. Take your time to read carefully because 5 hours and 40 minutes is more than enough if you are familiar with the material.
Good luck and think positively.
