Required Code Books
Medical codes and coding guidelines change annually, making it essential that your code books are published in the same year as when you plan to sit for the certification exam.
Prerequisite Courses for CPC Training
Because outpatient medical coders work with patient charters and clinical documentation, courses in anatomy, pathophysiology, and medical terminology are essential to COC certification training. These three courses — or the 3-in-1 course, Foundations in Medicine — are prerequisites for COC students.
Exemption: If your educational or employment background have provided you with working knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, and pathophysiology, you are exempt from these prerequisites.
Computer With:
- High-speed Internet access
- Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download available)
- For best experience, use of a mobile device is not recommended
COC Certification Course Description
The self-paced version of this course is divided into learning modules with tests at the end of each module to assess your progress. In addition to reading assignments, your studies will feature audio lectures, critical-thinking exercises, and other learning materials. A team of AAPC-certified coaches are available to answers questions as you work through the COC training program.
The COC Certification Course involves roughly 80 clock hours of course work, plus reading and study time. You should plan to complete the self-paced program in 4 months. AAPC allows for an additional 2 months, giving you 6 months of online access to course materials.
Certificate of Completion & CEUs
If you currently hold an AAPC certification, you will earn 40 CEUs you can apply to your existing certification by completing this course. CEUs are one-time use only and satisfy requirements for all certifications except CPCO, CIRCC, and CPMA, and specialty certifications.
Successful completion of the COC Certification Training Course requires:
- A passing score of 70% or higher on all chapter review exams
- A passing score of 70% or higher on final exam
- An overall final course score of 70% or higher
To receive a certificate of completion, students must meet the above requirements and complete the course within the allotted time frame.
Online COC Certification Course Content
ICD-10-CM Coding
- Medical terminology, word roots, abbreviations, prefixes, and suffixes
- ICD-10-CM conventions and terms
- Other conventions
- Medical necessity
- Table of Neoplasms
- Table of Drugs and Chemicals
- Adverse effect
- Poisoning and underdosing
- External cause codes and Z codes
- Selecting the correct ICD-10-CM diagnosis
Payment Methodologies & the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS)
- Billing for outpatient facilities
- Medicare program instructions
- Outpatient hospital departments
- Administrative departments
- Freestanding ambulatory surgical centers
- Teaching hospitals
- Graduate medical education
- Comprehensive outpatient
- Rehabilitation facility (CORF)
- Partial hospitalization
- Inpatient services
- Outpatient Prospective Payment System
- Ambulatory Payment Classification System
- APC structure
- Composite APCs
- Partial hospitalization services
- Evaluation and management coding for outpatient facilities
- Hospital emergency departments
- Inpatient reimbursement-Medicare Severity Diagnostic Related Groups (MS-DRG)
- Advance beneficiary notice (ABN)
- Medicare — appeals process
- Quality reporting (QR) programs
HCPCS
- Level I HCPCS codes — CPT® codes
- Procedure code assignment
- HCPCS Level II — National Codes
- HCPCS modifiers
CPT® Coding
- CPT® format
- Evaluation and management
- Anesthesia
- Surgery
- Radiology
- Pathology and laboratory
- Medicine
- Category II
- Category III
- Guidelines
- Unlisted procedure codes
- CPT® coding terminology
- Coding outpatient hospital claims
CPT® Surgery
- Definition of surgery
- Coding tips for the integumentary system
- Destructions
- Repairs
- Musculoskeletal system
- Aspiration/injection: joint size
- Fracture care
- Auditory/ear
Radiology
- Composite APCs
- Sample of HCPCS Level I codes assigned to composite APC
- Positions and views
- Technical vs professional component
- Laterality
- Contrast material
- General diagnostic radiology
- Chest
- Gastrointestinal tract
- Urinary tract
- Gynecological and obstetrical
- Vascular procedures
- Transcatheter procedures
- Diagnostic ultrasound procedures
- Obstetrical pelvis
- Non-Obstetrical
- Radiologic guidance
- Radiation oncology
- Nuclear medicine
Pathology and Laboratory
- Modifiers used in laboratory and pathology services
- Organ or disease-oriented panels
- Drug assay
- Therapeutic drug assays
- Evocative/suppression testing
- Consultations (clinical pathology)
- Urinalysis
- Molecular pathology
- Multianalyte assays with algorithmic analyses
- Chemistry
- Hematology and coagulation
- Immunology
- Transfusion medicine
- Microbiology
- Cytopathology
- Surgical Pathology
Medicine
- Immune globulins
- Immunization administration for vaccines/toxoids
- Vaccines, toxoids
- Psychiatry
- Dialysis
- Gastroenterology
- Ophthalmology
- Otorhinolaryngology services
- Cardiovascular
- Pulmonary
- Allergy and clinical immunology
- Neurology and neuromuscular procedures
- Hydration
- Therapeutic, prophylactic, and diagnostic injections and infusions
- Chemotherapy administration
- Special dermatological procedures
- Physical medicine and rehabilitation
COC Certification Course Policy
This 80-clock hour course should be completed within 4 months, although you are given an additional 2 months or 6-month access to the class from date of purchase. Date of purchase is considered your course start date, with additional time allotted for processing your order. You will receive email instruction on course access once your order is processed.
- If you need more time to complete your studies, you may purchase time extensions for a monthly fee.
- If you purchased a COC exam voucher in your training package, your voucher is valid for 12 months from date of purchase.
- Membership is required to take any AAPC examination.
By purchasing any online course and other items, I certify that I have read and agree to the online course Terms and Conditions, the Course Requirements, and the Refund Policy.
