Preparing for the CPC Exam – Apprentice Status – Video

Q#13: How long do I have to be an apprentice status and how do I get it removed?

A: You get it removed when you have two years or equivalent experience. If you have an 80-hour coding course like ours, the AAPC will waive one of those years of experience, then you’ll only need one year of experience. The way you prove that is you have to have someone submit a letter, an employer, someone that they can verify or vouch for you, that you’ve had that additional year with a two-year experience and you send it to the AAPC. They do have on their website I think it’s called “the apprentice removal tool.” It’s a letter, template or something like that. You can kind of Google for that – let me see “apprentice.” Let’s see if we can find it here. Here it is, apprentice removal template.

Alicia: And they just want it to be short and sweet.

Preparing for the CPC Exam – Apprentice Status – Video

Laureen: Yeah. See, how I just googled for that, and it’s literally a fill-in-the-blank. It’s hard for you to see I’m sure but its grade areas; you can literally just fill it in, print it, and have your supervisor or whoever sign it and send it in, done. Its static.aapc.com/ppdf/apprentice- removal-template3.pdf…

Q#14: Am I right in thinking that I should hold on to my ICD-9-CM because it also includes the ICD-10 codes (in green)?

Alicia: Yeah. I think she’s talking about the manual and –

Laureen: A: I would keep your last ICD-9, definitely.

Alicia: Yes.

Laureen: Someone mentioned you might end up having to audit an old case. I mean, you can still use encoders and stuff like that but even just for nostalgia sake.

Alicia: [laughs]

Laureen: I don’t understand part about the ICD-10 codes in green though, sorry.

Q#15: How do you prepare yourself to take the CPC exam?

A: I’m not sure which one.

Alicia: Go to this website called CCO and you sign up – just kidding. You know what, the forum, besides taking a course that the forum that we mentioned earlier that we have, an excellent source of helpful hints. Little tidbits by people who have found this works for them helping to study or this resource were helpful. I think I would do that and it’s free.

Laureen: Yup. If you’re talking about ICD-10, study those guidelines. If you’re talking about the CPC exam, the 1-2-3 approach that we recommend is:

1) A good solid medical coding course.

2) The Blitz with the bubbling and highlighting of your book and copying of the notes.

3) Practice, practice, practice. Timed practice exams until you get an 85% then you’re ready for the real thing.

Alicia: We have free practice exams.

Laureen: We do. We have lots of freebies. We really do try and help. We do have paid products – that’s how we pay our bills, but we do provide a lot of stuff out there for free.

Boyd: You can check your chat and see a lot of links I’m pasting in because Laureen got them ready for me –

Laureen: Are those going to show up to everybody or do I need to?

Boyd: Nope, they should be showing up right now for everybody right now.

Laureen: I thought the chat was only between us? No?

Boyd: Oh, you’re right. I don’t think so –

Alicia: When we put “send to all” it goes to everybody. That was a question, I’m sorry.

Boyd: Yeah. I sent them to everybody. I think we’re good.

Laureen: OK. Cool.

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AAPC – Apprentice Status