Certified Coding Associate (CCA)
Exam Preparation Information
- Exam Specifications
- Exam Content Outline
- Cognitive Levels
- Sample Questions (currently under review)
- Exam Scoring/Passing Scores
- Recommended Resources
- AHIMA Approved Coding Programs
Exam Notice
The CCA exam is based on ICD-9-CM codes effective October 1, 2008, and CPT codes effective January 1, 2009. Only the American Medical Association CPT codebook is permitted. HCPCS II codebooks and ICD-9-CM codebooks containing HCPCS national level II codebooks are not permitted for this examination.
Candidates without the required 2009 codebooks will not be permitted to test and will forfeit their application fee.
Effective March 31, 2010 the Commission on Certification for Health Informatics and Information Management (CCHIIM) will launch the 2010 version of the CCA exam with immediate scoring.
All candidates will have to present the 2010 version of the ICD-9 and CPT codebooks in order to test on or after March 31, 2010. If a candidate presents the incorrect code books at the testing center they will be turned away and forfeit their test fee.
Effective March 31, 2009 CCA score reports will show scaled scores, please review the CCA Scale Scoring FAQ.
Exam Specifications
2 hour, 100 multiple-choice item examination consisting of 90 scored items and 10 pretest items.
Candidates' scores are based solely upon the number of scored items on the exam - pretest items do not affect the candidates' score. Pretest questions are administered to evaluate the item's difficulty level for possible inclusion as a scored question in future exams. These pretest questions are dispersed throughout the exam and cannot be identified by the candidate.
Exam Content Outline
A certification examination is based on an explicit set of competencies. These competencies have been determined through a job analysis study conducted of practitioners. The competencies are divided into domains and tasks as shown in the PDF below. Examinations test only content pertaining to the following competencies.
- CCA Exam Content Outline (PDF)
CCA Resources
Every test question on AHIMA's certification examinations must be referenced to a valid, credible, and current resource. AHIMA's construction committee members and item writers most commonly use the following:
- 2009 ICD-9-CM Professional for Hospitals, Vol. 1, 2 & 3 (Ingenix)
- Basic Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and HCPCS Coding, 2009 edition
- Basic ICD-9-CM Coding (2009 Edition)
- CPT Professional Edition 2009 (AMA)
- CPT Standard Edition 2009 (AMA)
- Coders' Desk Reference for Procedures, 2009 (Ingenix)
- Coding Clinic for ICD-9-CM (Quarterly Publication Edition) (AHA Press)
- Documentation for Medical Records, 2009
- Documentation for Ambulatory Care, 2001
- Electronic Health Records: A Practical Guide for Professionals and Organizations, 4th edition
- HIPAA in Practice: The Health Information Manager's Perspective, 2004
- Health Information Management,10th Edition, 1994 (Physician's Record Co.)
- Health Information Management Compliance: A Model Program for Healthcare Organizations, 4th Edition, 2007
- Health Information Management Technology: An Applied Approach, 2nd Edition, 2007
- Health Information: Management of a Strategic Resource, 3rd Edition, 2007 (Elsevier)
- ICD-9-CM Coding Handbook, 2009 (AHA Press)
- ICD-9-CM Diagnostic Coding and Reimbursement for Physician Services, 2009 edition (2010 edition available in July 2009)
- Legal Aspects of Health Information Management, 2nd Edition, 2003 (Delmar)
- Pathophysiology: Concepts and Applications for Health Care Professionals, 3rd Edition, 2004 (McGraw- Hill)
- Principles of CPT Coding, 5th Edition, 2005 (AMA)
- Procedural Coding and Reimbursement for Physician Services: Applying Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and HCPCS, 2009 edition
- Quality and Performance Improvement in Healthcare: A Tool for Programmed Learning, 4th Edition
- Statistical Applications for Health Information Management, 2nd Edition
- Stedman's Medical Dictionary, 28th Edition, 2005 (Stedman's)
- The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 18th Edition, 2006 (Merck Publishing)