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AMCA BCSC study materials
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AMCA BCSC: Medical Coding: CPT, ICD-10-CM, and HCPCS Foundations

AMCA BCSC · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Medical Coding: CPT, ICD-10-CM, and HCPCS Foundations

What the exam tests

Coding questions on the BCSC exam reward precision over recall volume. You must know the three code sets and their jobs: CPT for procedures and services (Category I five-digit codes, Category II performance-tracking codes ending in F, Category III emerging-technology codes ending in T), ICD-10-CM for diagnoses (up to seven characters, with the 7th character often carrying encounter or laterality meaning), and HCPCS Level II for supplies, drugs, and equipment not captured by CPT.

Concepts to master

  • Code structure and sequencing: principal diagnosis selection, etiology/manifestation pairs (code the underlying condition first), and the difference between "code also" and "code first" notes.
  • Modifiers: -25 (significant, separately identifiable E/M on the same day as a procedure), -59 (distinct procedural service), -26/-TC split between professional and technical components, and laterality modifiers.
  • Units and add-ons: understanding when a code is per-unit versus per-session, and that add-on codes are never reported alone.

Common traps

Questions love to test the -25 versus -59 distinction, bundled services (a procedure that includes a routine E/M), and "rule-out" diagnoses (never coded as confirmed in outpatient settings). Another frequent trap is choosing the most specific ICD-10-CM code when a less specific one is offered as a distractor; always pick the highest level of documented specificity.

Rule of thumb

Code what is documented, not what is suspected. If the record does not support a diagnosis or service, it cannot be coded. When two codes seem equally valid, choose the one with the greatest documented specificity that the note actually supports.

Worked example: A patient is seen for a scheduled injection (procedure code) and the provider also performs a distinct, documented problem-focused evaluation. The E/M is separately reportable with modifier -25 because it was significant and separately identifiable from the procedure's usual pre/post work.