CCS & CCS-P Beta Testing
The CCS and CCS-P beta testing period ended on 01/12/2021. Live testing began for the CCS and CCS-P exams on 01/13/2021. We are in the process of scoring the beta exams. We are working as quickly as possible to provide beta exam scores. We will be reaching out directly to all those that participated in the beta testing with information on viewing your score reports. We will provide specific dates on when your scores will be available on 01/16/2021. Thank you for your patience and participating in the beta testing.
Certifications
Coding specialists are skilled in classifying medical data from patient records, often in a hospital setting but also in a variety of other healthcare settings. The CCS credential demonstrates a practitioner's tested skills in data quality and accuracy as well as mastery of coding proficiency.
The CCS certification is a natural progression for professionals experienced in coding inpatient and outpatient records. Coding specialists create coded data used by hospitals and medical providers to obtain reimbursement from insurance companies or government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Researchers and public health officials also use this data to monitor patterns and explore new interventions.
CCSs:
Candidates must meet one of the following eligibility requirements to sit for the CCS examination:
Apply to take the Certified Coding Specialist exam.
Certified Professionals and Pass Rates
As of 12/31/19, there were 31,355 certified CCS professionals.
|
Year |
Exam |
# First Time Testers |
Pass Rate First Time Testers |
|
2019* |
CCS |
1,990 |
80% |
|
2018* |
CCS |
2,101 |
81% |
|
2017 |
CCS |
2,191 |
75% |
*U.S. and Canada results only
Exam Specifications
The CCS is a timed exam. Candidates have four hours to complete the exam. The total number of questions on the exam range between 115 and 140 total items. The exam consists of two sections, a Multiple-Choice Section and a Medical Scenario Section (inpatient, outpatient, and emergency department). The exam is given in a computer-based format.
AHIMA exams contain a variety of questions or item types that require you to use your knowledge, skills, and/or experience to select the best answer. Each exam includes scored questions and pre-test questions randomly distributed throughout the exam. Pre-test questions are not counted in the final results.
The passing score for the CCS is 300.
Competencies for CCS fall into four domains. Each domain accounts for a specific percentage of the total questions on the certification exam. See the Exam Content Outline below for greater detail.
Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) Exam Content Outline (Effective 7/1/20)
Domain 1 – Coding Knowledge and Skills (51.9%)
Tasks:
Domain 2 – Coding Documentation (10.1%)
Tasks:
Domain 3 – Provider Queries (8.9%)
Tasks:
Domain 4 – Regulatory Compliance (29.1%)
Tasks:
On test day, all candidates must bring the correct codebooks to the test center. Candidates who do not have the correct codebooks will not be allowed to test and forfeit their exam fees. The full list of allowable codebooks are can be found in the PDF below.
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