Certified Coding Specialist--Physician-based (CCS-P) - Explore Further Coding Opportunities through Professional Certification

CCS-Ps are coding practitioners who:

• Specialize in physician-based settings such as physician offices, group practices, multi-specialty clinics, or specialty centers
• Review patient records and assign numeric codes for each diagnosis and procedure
• Possess in-depth knowledge of the CPT coding system and familiarity with the ICD-9-CM and HCPCS Level II coding systems
• Are experts in health information documentation, data integrity, and quality
• Play a critical role in a health provider's business operations, because patients' coded data is submitted to insurance companies or the government for expense reimbursement.

The employment outlook for CCS-Ps is highly favorable, considering the growth of managed care and the movement of health services delivery beyond the hospital setting. Professionals performing coding in a doctor's office, clinic, or similar setting should consider obtaining the CCS-P certification to testify to their capabilities. The CCS-P certification exam assesses mastery-level proficiency in coding rather than entry-level skills.

Eligibility Requirements

CCS-P exam candidates must have earned a high school diploma from a United States high school or have an equivalent educational background.

Although not required, it is strongly recommended that candidates have at least three years of on-the-job experience in:

• Coding for physician services in multiple settings (for example, hospital, emergency room, operating room, and physician office or clinic) utilizing codes in the E/M, surgery, medicine and/or anesthesia, radiology and laboratory chapters of CPT and HCPCS II
AND
• Completed coursework in anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology, or demonstrated proficiency in these areas

Exam Information

• Applying for the Exam
• Exam Fees
• Application Checklist
• Exam Scoring/Passing Scores
• Annual Exam Pass Rates 

Applying for the Exam

Submitting an Application

Before submitting an application, carefully review the information contained in this guide. It is the candidate's responsibility to ensure eligibility before submitting the application. Applicants who are determined to be ineligible and submit an ineligible application or request withdrawal of their application, will receive a refund of the application fee minus a $45 processing fee.

Applicants may register online or by submitting a paper application .

Exam Application Checklist

• Read Candidate Guide
• Apply for exam
  • Register Online
  • Exam Application
  • Special Accommodations Form - Form A and B
• Submit all paperwork necessary (transcripts, resume, other documentation)
• Upon receipt of authorization to test (ATT), read it completely
• Schedule exam with Prometric
• Verify what materials are needed at the testing center
• Verify time and date of exam

Exam Preparation Information

• Exam Specifications
• Exam Content Outline
• Cognitive Levels
• Procedures for Coding Part II Cases
• Exam Scoring/Passing Scores
• Recommended Resources

Exam Notice

The CCS-P 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.

Beginning June 2, 2010, candidates must bring the 2010 versions of ICD-9-CM Volumes 1 through 2 (volume 3 is allowed), CPT, and the HCPCS National Level II coding books to the testing center. Only the American Medical Association CPT code book is permitted. A medical dictionary is optional.

Candidates who report to the test center with incorrect code books (i.e. incorrect version, books not on the list of allowable code books) will not be permitted to test and will forfeit their exam application fee.

• List of Allowable Codebooks

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Exam Specifications

Multiple Choice: Part I consists of 60 four option multiple-choice items (50 "scored" items, and 10 pre-test items). Pre-test items are unscored items that are included in the examination to assess the item's performance prior to using it for operational use in a future examination. The pre-test items are scrambled randomly throughout the examination and do not count toward the candidate's score.

Medical Record Coding: Part II requires you to perform diagnostic (ICD-9-CM) and procedural (CPT and HCPCS Level II) coding for physician services. A total of sixteen records from the Hospital, Emergency Room, Operating Room, and Physician Office/Clinic settings will be used. The sixteen cases will consist of:

• Six cases from the E/M chapter of CPT
• Six cases from the Surgery chapter of CPT
• Three cases from the Medicine chapter of CPT
• One additional case chosen from the remaining chapters of the CPT book and HCPCS Level II

The total testing time for the exams is four hours. You cannot return to Part I after beginning Part II of the exam.

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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.

• CCS-P Exam Content Outline

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CCS-P Resources

Please click on the link below to view AHIMA's Recommended Resources:

• CCS-P Recommended 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:

• Hazelwood, Kuehn, Venable. CCS-P Review Guide. AHIMA Press
• Brown, Faye. ICD-9-CM Coding Handbook with Answers. AHA Press
• Coders' Desk Reference. Ingenix.
• Coding Clinic for ICD-9-CM, American Hospital Association (AHA) Press.
• CPT Assistant. American Medical Association (AMA).
• Hazelwood, Anita and Carol Venable. ICD-9-CM Diagnostic Coding and Reimbursement for Physician Services. AHIMA Press. 
• Kuehn, Lynn. Procedural Coding and Reimbursement for Physician Services: Applying CurrentProcedural Terminology (CPT) and HCPCS, 2009 edition. AHIMA Press.
• Principles of CPT Coding, American Medical Association (AMA).
• Principles of ICD-9-CM Coding. American Medical Association (AMA).
• The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. 17th edition. Merck Research Laboratories

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CCS and CCS-P Examinations FAQs

How much does the exam cost?

The application fee for the CCS and the CCS-P exam is $299.00 for AHIMA members and $399.00 for non-members.

What are the examination specifications?

The exam specifications will be structured as follows:

How long is the testing time for the exams?

The total testing time for the CCS/CCS-P exam is four hours.  The following is a schedule of the day’s activities:

CCS Exam

CCS-P Exam

*  Not counted as part of 4-hour exam time.

When can I expect to receive my score report?

Immediate scoring for the 2010 exam will be available when a sufficient candidate volume has been reached.  The passing score will be set and score reports will be mailed to candidates.  Once the passing scores have been established, immediate scoring will be available at all testing centers.

What is the passing score for the CCS/CCS-P Exam?

The passing score reflects the minimum number of questions and codes needed to be answered correctly to pass. The methodology used to set the original minimum passing score is the modified Angoff procedure. This universally accepted psychometric procedure uses content experts to estimate the passing probability of each item on the examination. The Examination Construction Committee follows strict guidelines in selecting the multiple-choice questions used on each examination form to ensure that all versions of the exam are parallel in difficulty. To adjust for fluctuations in examination difficulty across time, statistical equating is performed, and the passing score may vary slightly from one testing period to the next. Passing scores will be published when sufficient candidate volume is reached on AHIMA’s Web site.  In order to pass the examination, candidates must meet or exceed the passing scores for both Part I and Part II of the examination.

What is an “eligibility period”?

A candidate’s eligibility period is defined in the Authorization to Test letter (ATT) as a four-month window in which candidates are required to schedule their exam appointment.  Candidates who fail to schedule an examination appointment within their eligibility period indicated in their ATT will forfeit their application fee. A complete application and examination fee are required to reapply for the examination.

After I send my application and fee, how soon will I get my Authorization to Test (ATT)?

Prometric will send an ATT letter to the candidate once all application materials are complete and eligibility has been confirmed. If the application is incomplete, the candidate will be sent further instructions for completion of the application. Candidates who are determined to be ineligible, submit an ineligible application, or request the withdrawal of their application, will receive a refund of their application fee less a $45 processing fee.   Please allow four to six weeks for processing from the time you submit your completed application to the time you receive your ATT which will allow you to make an appointment to schedule the exam. All applicants are strongly encouraged to send the application and fee via a traceable method.

How soon can I re-test if I failed the exam?

Candidates who have taken the exam and were unsuccessful must wait a minimum of 91 days between administrations.  To retake an exam, the candidate must reapply by submitting a current application with the appropriate fee. 

How long does it take to process an examination application refund?

Examination refund requests take 6-8 weeks to process.