This practice test covers what you need to know to improve your score on your Medical Coding exam. Our texting experts devote hours upon hours to prepare practice questions with answers that most likely will appear on your exam. Our CPC practice exam gives you the opportunity to test your knowledge on a set of questions. Repetition is a key to success and our tests prep allow you to reinforce your strengths and improve your weaknesses.
There is a tremendous advantage to someone taking the test that s/he is already familiar with the questions and answer choices. Another advantage of taking our Medical Coder practice test is that you can assess your performance and see if you need to study and practice more, or if you’re already prepared enough to achieve success on your test day. We encourage you to purchase our CPC exam prep and study before your exam. You can read our this practice test on any computer or mobile devices.
At Kingexams, We guarantee you total satisfaction. That is to say, your success is our top priority and we are here to make it happened. Practice is an essential part of preparing for a test and improving a test taker’s chance of success. The best way to succeed on your exam is by going through lots of our CPC exam questions. Taking our tests multiple times helps ensure that you are not surprised or disappointed on your test day.
There are a handful of technical skills medical coders need to succeed in the field, but transferable skills are important as well. We used real-time job analysis software to examine over 20,000 medical coding job postings from the past year and identified some of the top skills employers are seeking.
Top technical skills for medical coders:
- Medical coding
- Customer billing
- ICD-10
- CPT coding
- Health information technology
- HCPCS coding
- Anatomy and physiology
- Clinical documentation
- Inpatient coding
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance
Top transferable skills for medical coders:
- Communication
- Research
- Computer literacy
- Microsoft Office®
- Teamwork/collaboration
- Organization
- Multi-tasking
- Analytical skills
- Problem solving
- Time management
What is Medical Coding?
Medical coding is the transformation of healthcare diagnosis, procedures, medical services, and equipment into universal medical alphanumeric codes. The diagnoses and procedure codes are taken from medical record documentation, such as transcription of physician’s notes, laboratory and radiologic results, etc. Medical coding professionals help ensure the codes are applied correctly during the medical billing process, which includes abstracting the information from documentation, assigning the appropriate codes, and creating a claim to be paid by insurance carriers.
Medical coding happens every time you see a healthcare provider. The healthcare provider reviews your complaint and medical history, makes an expert assessment of what’s wrong and how to treat you, and documents your visit. That documentation is not only the patient’s ongoing record, it’s how the healthcare provider gets paid.
Medical codes translate that documentation into standardized codes that tell payers the following:
- Patient’s diagnosis
- Medical necessity for treatments, services, or supplies the patient received
- Treatments, services, and supplies provided to the patient
- Any unusual circumstances or medical condition that affected those treatments and services
Like a musician who interprets the written music and uses their instrument to produce what’s intended, Medical Coding requires the ability to understand anatomy, physiology, and details of the services, and the rules and regulations of the payers to succeed.
Certified medical coders make $60,917 per year on average — 29% more than uncertified health information technicians who earn approximately $47,200 annually. Where you live, what role you play in the revenue cycle, and how much education and credentials you have can influence your pay. Coders who pursue career advancement, earning their Certified Professional Medical Auditor (CPMA), Certified Physician Practice Manager (CPPM), or Certified Documentation Expert Outpatient (CDEO) make average salaries of $71,646 annually, according to AAPC’s 2022 Medical Coding Salary Survey.
How to Find Medical Coding Jobs
Many medical coders can work flexible hours or alternative hours, where they work evenings or weekends. However, this flexibility is dependent on where you work, how big of a place your work for, and how much experience you have as a medical coder.
Because medical coders work with highly sensitive and confidential information, many medical coders are required to work on-site. But, many positions can be done from home.
You can find many remote medical coding jobs. These roles may require proven ability to access sensitive information from home. You’ll typically need a quiet home office that’s free of distractions that lets you focus.
Before you decide to pursue a medical coder career, you should know that you will need to pursue some specialized education. First, you will need to learn multiple sets of medical codes, as the government requires their use. Some of these codes are:
- International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition (ICD-10-CM), which includes 69,000 codes for everything that can hurt you, make you sick, or kill you.
- Current Procedure Terminology (CPT) for the 8,000 codes that describe all physician services.
- International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, Procedural Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) used by hospitals to code the 130,000 different surgical procedures.
- Health Care Procedural Coding System, Level III (HCPCS Level II), which has over 7,000 codes that help bill insurance companies for supplies.
There are other codes you will need to learn if you want to become a medical coder. And, if you wish to pursue a specialized field, for example, dentistry or cancer, you will need to learn specific codes for those areas, too.
Beyond the codes, you will also need to learn about anatomy, physiology, and medical procedures, not to mention all the individual insurance rules and policies.
Because there’s so much to learn on the path to medical coder, most employers want prospective employees to have a solid background and education in medical coding. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you must have an M.D. or even a Ph.D. to do the job.
While some employers are fine with medical coders who have a high school diploma and extensive medical coding experience, many are not. Typically, you will need a bachelor’s degree in a health-related field, but some employers will accept an associate degrees.
That said, your coursework should include classes in medical terminology, anatomy, and physiology. You’ll also need classes in health data standards, classifications, and coding systems. It’s also wise to take computer classes that focus on data and record keeping.
What are some qualities that successful medical coders share?
There is no “typical” prototype when it comes to medical coders. You’ll find people of all ages, identities and experiences. But good medical coders do share some common characteristics that help them on the job. One critical trait is a strong ethical standard because the patient data they work with is highly confidential.
Medical coders must also have a keen eye for detail—one minuscule mistake in a code could lead to much larger issues. They also must be able to remain focused because their work is rather repetitive, yet extremely important. Additionally, it helps to be efficient and even-keeled, as their work is often tied to meeting production- and accuracy-based goals.
