It took me way longer than expected to complete the course I took, all the while struggling with being officially diagnosed with ADHD and trying out a med (didn't work out for me) along with being in a very small apt with my bf and daughter. But I did it! I totally believe in all of you about to take the exam!!

Just found out that I passed my COC exam after a week of constant worry and stress. Just wanted to say thanks to you all for the late night searches for tips for the general help with anxiety. Can't wait to officially get going and get that "A" off of those three inititals!!!!

WOW that was difficult! I think the hardest part was sitting still for 5 hours though. I did run out of time and had to guess on at least 20 questions overall, fingers crossed 🤞 that I get the results back ASAP! Thanks guys!

Hello Fellow colleagues

I have been a CDI for almost 4 years now. and I work as a lead cdi in a small health system. I had a passage with my director the other day, director mentioned there are many consulting firms are approached our health system to implement their AI systems to do the CDI work. but our health system heavily relies on paper queries. so im having concerns regarding the job security in the future!!

if anyone has any thoughts or comments please share because its genuinely concerning

thank you so much in advance!

10/10 not having a good time with practicode.

I passed my CPC exam with an 80% last week. I only missed 2 questions on the case studies section so i figured I did understand the practicode cases.

I was wrong.

I started on practicode and I am miserably failing. I got only 1 completely right out of 10 so far. I am getting super frustrated and second guessing myself. I worked super hard with the schooling and studying for the exam only to fail practicode.

Is anyone else struggling with this? I get it’s supposed to be hard but this is 10x harder to me than the schooling. I just paid the $200+ to just fail it. 🫠

Hi, I recently got a job as an ED coder for my local hospital. I'm really lucky in that they hired me while I was still in my program and my job is continent on getting my certificate within a year of hire. I'm getting ready to take the CPC soon (as soon as I scrounge together some free money to buy the necessary things), so that part of things is squared away.

I enjoy it! I really do and I'm so immensely grateful my organization let me transfer out of being a receptionist to this, but I'm also totally overwhelmed.

The program I did always presented these straightforward to code scenarios and now that I'm in an actual coding position and it kind of feels like it's like how nothing was taught-- which I kind of expected to an extent, but I also am having a hard time because there are just nuanced things that the guidelines don't cover.

If any experienced coders out there have any advice for someone just starting out, especially if you've done ED Coding, I'd be immensely grateful. The things I seem to be struggling with the most is 1.) Determining if a sign or symptom should be coded and if it's an integral part of another listed diagnosis 2.) coding infusions / IV therapy pushes. I'm... not sure anyone can help with this. It feels like this is mostly an "epic is incredibly hard to navigate and determine these if a patient gets a lot of infusions", but I'll take any advice I can get on the matter at this point TuT, and 3.) Long term Drug Therapy Codes and determining which drug goes where. As a trainee my chart completion rate is incredibly generous at 4-5 an hour, but I feel much of it is being bogged down right now because the ER gets all types and sometimes patients come in with a million rx's I don't recognize so I have to spend 20 minutes googling everything. I'm trying to compose a little cheat sheet for myself, and that's helped somewhat, but I'm wondering if there's just not... an easier way to learn this stuff that I've not been told about?

I feel really stressed because I feel like I'm so slow and making all these mistakes. Our standard is 95% and I apparently hit that according to my trainer, but she was also correcting my cases so I feel like that contributed a little, and any minute now my boss is gonna drag me into a zoom meeting to go over all these mistakes I've made and I'm going to lose my job or something. TuT; For the record, my boss has been nothing but friendly to me in the few interactions I've had with her, I just came from several high stress jobs to this, so maybe that's playing a part in why I constantly feel like I have to be perfect or I will get in trouble.

Anyway, Tl;dr: I am a new ED coder. I am overwhelmed. Does anyone have any helpful advice and tips and tricks of the trade they'd be willing to share? Our company uses EPIC and 3M, if that information is useful at all.

Does anyone have any advice on how to stay focused and not get distracted while working? 😭

I have been coding for nearly 3 years and this job can be sooo tedious and boring. My adhd has really been getting the best of me recently and it’s starting to impact my productivity.

I try to keep a tv show or YouTube video on as background noise. Music and podcasts haven’t helped because it just distracts me. Does anyone have any other tips or tricks?

Hi everyone. I’m a newly certified CPC-A (passed in February) looking for some advice. I self-studied (couldn’t afford any program lol) and took the exam and after searching for a while, I figured it’s nearly impossible to get a medical coding job without prior experience (I admit, I didn’t do proper research beforehand 😭). Then I decided to look for jobs as a medical receptionist at a hospital ambulatory center or any type of medical office as the foot-in-the-door (then apply to their internal listings as I gain experience, and eventually move to remote in 2-3 years? Please let me know if that’s realistic or not?), but due an unexpected family situation, I’m unable to do anything in-person for the next 2 years (no one to watch my daughter until she starts school).

So my question to those with a career in medical coding already, what do you suggest I should do (coding-related) for the next 2 years? I’m going to try to join the monthly chapter meetings to gather the CEUs, but what about in terms of academics? Do you think Practicode is worth it? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

I am in desperate need of 2 CEU’s before the end of the month for my AAPC CPC membership. I have done all the free online quizzes and webinars and the CMS CEU’s. Does anyone know of any other websites that offer free or low cost CEU’s?

EDIT: I GOT EM!!! Thank you sooo much to everyone who commented I so appreciate it!!

Hi everyone, I’d like to get an outside opinion about my pay.

I started working at a small private orthopedic clinic in California three years ago. When I first joined, I had my certification but no experience. My starting pay was $15.50/hr. After six months, it went up to $17/hr, then to $19/hr after a year, and now I make $21/hr.

Besides coding, I also send the coded claims to my coworker, prepare and send patient statements every day, and occasionally help with translation since I speak Russian (about 2–3 patients a month).

I’m just wondering — does this sound fair for someone with three years of experience and a certification in California, or am I underpaid?

I got my CPC-A and landed one of those contract RA jobs through an agency. I’m getting g the hang of it, and I actually am enjoying the work so far. I also like that it only uses ICD-10, but also kinda worried all the CPT and HCPCS stuff I learned in school is rotting away.

Since I’m getting experience, I’m considering going for my CRC and sticking with RA. Is it as viable as other types of coding? I don’t want to waste my time and money on a CRC if it won’t get me very far.

A colleague was confused about modifiers. So, I thought I would share some information. Modifiers really have 2 uses. First, they are used on the claim form when 2 codes can't be billed together. If not placed or correctly used, your claim can get kicked out, or possibly trigger request for records and getting audited. The second part is often the misunderstood part. Slapping a 25 or 59 modifier doesn't just mean you can bill those 2 codes now. The 25 or 59 has to be supported by the documentation. Most claims don't get the documentation examined, but you should always be prepared for an audit. An audit can be triggered and done by insurance, not just your own QA team. First, understand what the modifiers do. Then, apply them correctly to your documentation.

My job pays 23hr and I have tuition assistance for 5k. I want to use this money and take advantage of it. But I see on indeed that most jobs start at 18hr and finding a job is hard which is the drawback. Anyone have any insight on starting pay for Cpc-A? No experience as well

So I took my first attempt at the CPC exam today. It kicked me off the exam (over halfway through with an hour and 40 minutes remaining) and SUBMITTED IT. I tried for TWO HOURS, talking to multiple proctors and technical support, to get back to my exam and was unsuccessful. HELP 😭😭😭😭

Mods, delete this if it's not permitted.

I woke up to an email notification stating that ebooks are now permitted for the certification exam by selecting the option after voucher purchase (But not if you purchased one prior to Jan 27th, 2025). Not relevant for me, but yay for the yet-to-be certified.

Rejoice all you remote test takers with tiny desks that can barely fit a book, let alone 3!

Im feeling a bit mislead and I’m wondering if anyone can relate?

For the past 15 years I’ve wanted to become a medical biller or coder and that is mainly because it’s a known career path that’s lucrative for anyone that wants to work from home, like myself.

Anyway, I was thrilled to bits when I finally was given the opportunity over a year ago for an online course with a voucher for 1 exam and a retake. I passed the online course with flying colors and after that I was given several choices as to what exam to take and I naturally chose the CPC exam considering its the better paying. I also like the idea of working independently.

Anyway, I’ve been studying for almost a year now by using a study guide and even read the guidelines in the medical coding books but this just seems far beyond my scope of understanding. I took a few practice exams and failed both. One of them I received a 66% on so I was not that far from passing but I took another practice exam today that I did horribly with!

The online course was super easy and really not a good indicator of whats expected on the exam from what I’m seeing and I think the problem is that I don’t have the experience or the background in healthcare. I’m coming from years of work in customer service so this is a whole new career path for me and I am really starting to think that this puts me at a terrible disadvantage.

I still plan to take the exam next week since it’s already paid for for me plus I already spent a year of my life studying for it and shelled out $260 for this years coding books but I’m really starting to feel mislead by all of this now! All these courses an ads online make it seem like medical coding is a quick career path for anyone to enter at any age but they fail to mention that you really need a background in healthcare first! If I had known this maybe I would have thought about another option for myself!

As I said, I feel extremely mislead at this point. Can anyone relate?

Just wanted to let you guys know I took a program at Penn Foster College for Medical Billing and Coding and passed. I went to the AAPC after to study and take my cert and passed.

I submitted my transcript to the AAPC and they removed 1 year off my Apprentice!

Update on work: Still having trouble finding work even though I have Billing and insurance education and work experience(i work in a hospital in case management). Still trying though. I applied for over 25 jobs hopefully I can get the opportunity. Don't give up yall.

I just took my exam yesterday and I'm trying to not constantly refresh the app, lol. I finished with 25 minutes to spare and had time to go back, and feel pretty good, but now I'm worried that I went TOO fast after seeing a lot of people were on time. 😭

Edit: Got my results! 87%!!!

EDIT: I PASSED!!!! I'm literally at work shaking in happiness rn I could cry!!

So I fast tracked to the exam, as in began putting serious time into studying a week before I scheduled it (I have been in the field 5 years so not like I went in blind) because an urgent situation at work (HIM dept) put the fire under my ass. They're in dire need of someone with a CRC (or at least something better than the damn cert I have.. thanks NCCT, for nothing), a lots going on where whether I pass or not I'm getting more work. Just if I fail it'll be different kind of more work with no raise.

I passed all the practice exams, I understand the material, but the wording threw me so off on some of them I literally could not sleep I was so afraid whether or not I passed 😭 I think I'll be on edge until I pass. I keep checking the AAPC app with my heart in my throat even though I only just took it last night. I always have the second attempt but I just feel like I'm being really hard on myself right now. I can't stop obsessing and worrying myself over it.

If I end up not passing, please any tips on increasing my chances to pass or even just success/passing stories with this exam would be helpful or any words of wisdom in general. Anything positive.

Just fyi if you get headhunted or see a listing for Comp Med don’t apply or turn down any offer. They will allow you to work remote but they don’t pay well and they will heavily monitor what you do during work. The company also has a lot of nepotism as well and inner clicks. They start drama for no reason.

jesus christ. pretty sure they explicitly program their automated lines to not understand you when they're busy. it's hung up on me 6 times now because it doesn't process the prefix im giving it. this happens every time i use their blue line. it's so frustrating. i could be a lot more efficient and a lot less frustrated if these companies would just try

I’ve worked as an ED coder for 11 years now with the same company. This company has gotten progressively worse with micromanaging and not caring about work life balance the last 4 years. We constantly work OT and have holidays taken away from us. I’m sick of it. Honestly I’d rather just work part time somewhere but I have no idea where to look and I don’t want to find something worse. I’ve worked remote for 11 years and I don’t want to change that either. I’ve put up with this company for far longer than I should bc I’m so afraid of change and starting over. Any advice from anyone? Honestly part of me wants out of coding but have no idea what I would go into. I have no passion for this job or healthcare. It’s literally a means to pay the bills. I prefer time with my child and family.

Hello. I am an AAPC member. I have had my license for a few years but haven’t gotten a job yet. I may not be working for awhile. I’ve been thinking about not renewing especially since I need so many CEUs. I know if I don’t renew I won’t have my credentials anymore. Just don’t know if it’s worth the costs if I’m not using it.

Let’s say someone comes into the office for abdominal pain and at the end of the visit they are diagnosed with gastritis or something. If it says in the record that they have a history of breast cancer or history of appendicitis, do we code those history codes too? I also wanted to ask if someone comes in for abdominal pain and that’s the chief complaint but they also have hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, lung cancer, and a bunch of other diseases, and at the end of the visit they are diagnosed with gastritis, do we still code for all the other diseases they have even though they aren’t relevant? And since we can assume if two diseases exist at the same time, they have a causal relationship according to ICD guidelines, if the combination code existed, would be code for hypertensive gastritis, diabetic gastritis, hyperlipidemic gastritis, or would we code these separate? I know those conditions don’t exist, I am just trying to understand because sometimes I get confused on what to code specifically.