The CCS exam is based on ICD-9-CM codes effective 10/1/06 and CPT codes effective 1/1/07.  The 2007 exam will be administered through May 17, 2008.  Candidates must bring the 2007 versions of ICD-9-CM Volumes 1-3 and CPT coding books to the testing center.  Only the American Medical Association CPT code book is permitted.  A medical dictionary is optional.  LIST OF ALLOWABLE CODEBOOKS Candidates without the required 2007 codebooks will not be permitted to test and will forfeit their application fee. Beginning June 3, 2008 candidates will be required to bring their 2008 ICD-9-CM Volumes 1-3 codebook and the 2008 CPT codebook to the test center.

                Exam Preparation

Certified Coding Specialists are professionals skilled in classifying medical data from patient records, generally in the hospital setting. These coding practitioners review patients' records and assign numeric codes for each diagnosis and procedure. To perform this task, they must possess expertise in the ICD-9-CM coding system and the surgery section within the CPT coding system. In addition, the CCS is knowledgeable of medical terminology, disease processes, and pharmacology.

Hospitals or medical providers report coded data to insurance companies or the government, in the case of Medicare and Medicaid recipients, for reimbursement of their expenses. Researchers and public health officials also use coded medical data to monitor patterns and explore new interventions. Coding accuracy is thus highly important to healthcare organizations because of its impact on revenues and describing health outcomes. Accordingly, the CCS credential demonstrates tested data quality and integrity skills in a coding practitioner. The CCS certification exam assesses mastery or proficiency in coding rather than entry-level skills.

If you have experience in coding inpatient records or coding the hospital portion of ambulatory surgery and emergency room care, you should consider obtaining this certification. In fact, certification is becoming an implicit industry standard.

• Online CCS Exam Registration
• Download the 2008 CCA/CCS/CCS-P Candidate Handbook and Exam Application Form
• FAQs for the CCS Examination
  
  
  
  

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