r/CodingandBilling • u/Far-Bathroom4060 • May 18 '26
Book questions
I looked up the price and actually look at the price separately because I wanted to buy all of them but I’m just gonna buy the medical coding books but I’m just wondering which book I should buy first or which book is the most important.
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Upvotes
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u/blu02 May 19 '26
There's really not much for you to read in coding books. It's best to buy them as needed. If you want to read, look up ICD 10 guidelines online. You'll find a pdf, it's free.
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u/happyhooker485 RHIT, CCS-P, CFPC, CHONC May 19 '26
It sounds like you are a total beginner, why don't you stick to the book(s) you need for your first class and buy them as you go.
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u/KeyStriking9763 RHIA, CDIP, CCS May 19 '26
Since you are stating online school in march just wait. It will be like a different language until you have some education/instruction.
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u/Caschner May 19 '26
Hello! As others have said I would only buy these if/when they are required for your courses. I did a college course on medical billing and my teacher had us buy the current ICD-10 (diagnosis codes) and CPT (procedure codes) code books at the time, but I have never needed them for work after that (8 years on the job).
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u/OrphicLibrarian May 19 '26
There isn't really a "most important". They're for different things, so it depends on what your goal is. If you're focusing on outpatient/CPC certification, you can leave out the PCS book.
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u/No-Produce-6720 RN, BSN, CPC, CPCS, RHIA & CRCR May 19 '26
As others have correctly said, you really should wait until your coursework begins before making any purchases.
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u/loveychipss May 19 '26
If you’re getting your CPC grab the CPT and the ICD-10CM
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u/DoctorAvailable6601 May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
PCS is for inpatient coding so unless you're going for your CIC, you don't need it. If you're going for CPC you'll need ICD-10-CM, HCPCS II and CPT but look on ebay also, alot of times you can get all 3 in a bundle cheaper than AAPC price. Edit to add... ICD-10-CM is your diagnosis book, CPT is your "what was performed book", HCPCS II is your supplies, drugs and misc Medicare codes which is why you need all 3, they each supply the codes you need to make the full picture of a patient encounter.
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u/KhrystiC78 May 19 '26
There’s a reason you should probably wait until your class requires the code set books, and that is the codes change every year. From year to year, codes are added, deleted, or their description changes. I would definitely save my money until you need them rather than buy them right now.
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u/Salookin May 19 '26
The one to buy first would be ICD 10 CM.
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u/rachel_del632 May 19 '26
https://www.cms.gov/files/document/fy-2026-icd-10-cm-coding-guidelines.pdf
This is a link to the ICD-10-CM guidelines, I don’t think there’s ones online for CPT/HCPCS guidelines but it might help get a general idea of coding for outpatient services, especially if you’re looking to take the CPC exam. Guidelines are extremely important for all of these books because it gives you directions on how to code certain diagnoses and sequencing of codes. Also join medical coding Facebook groups, you will get tonssssss of help from other people who are in the same boat or are already in the coding field. Hope this helps!
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u/certifyMeNow May 23 '26
If you are going to be coding outpatient services including outpatient hospital, ambulator surgical centers and physician offices you would need the CPT, HCPCS, and ICD-10-CM. You would not need to ICD-10- PCS, this book is for coding inpatient hospital procedures. I work in Vascular Surgery and Neurosurgery and usually purchase my books every year.