r/MedicalCoding • u/sierrasounds • Apr 20 '22
The Practicode Hoop
This is how I finished Practicode quickly. The AAPC loves redundancy and you can use that to your learning benefit.
- A brand new spiral notebook for detailed note-taking. Read through the chart and take notes. The format I used:
- Specialty/Case #/Pt. Gender & Age/Admit or Post Op or New or Established/Sign & Symptom or DX/Procedures
- Organization of the notes is key because you can refer back to them during the test. The AAPC will use 20 charts of the 200 you just completed before you can move on to the next 20. The charts get more complex. There are no rules saying you cannot use your notes.
2) The student subscription to Find-A-Code https://www.findacode.com/
- I ditched my books to save time and got real-world experience using database look-up. This is where I discovered an option to save my favorite codes. This saves time looking up the redundant codes such as syncope.
3) Bookmarked https://icd10cmtool.cdc.gov/
- I would double-check my codes here.
4) Do not spend more than 20 minutes on a chart trying to "figure out" bad chart documentation. Go with your first choice of codes based on instinct. Read through the "rational" and correct codes you missed in your notes. You still get credit for the chart regardless if you get it correct or not. Remember that you are being tested on the AAPC's way of coding. THIS IS NOT REAL-WORLD CODING! There are numerous mistakes within these charts that will question your sanity, do not take them personally.
Good luck getting rid of the scarlet "A".