CPC Medical Coding study plan
CPC Medical Coding · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Core Coding Knowledge (ICD-10-CM, CPT, HCPCS Level II, guidelines and sequencing)
Memorize ICD-10-CM conventions (Excludes1 vs Excludes2, Code First, Use Additional Code, Includes, See Also) and recite each from memory
Sequence principal and secondary diagnoses across 25 short vignettes using official guideline order
Differentiate chapter-specific rules for diabetes, hypertension/heart disease, sepsis, and injury/trauma coding
Build a one-page personal conventions cheat sheet from your own written notes
Your checkpoint
50-question timed ICD-10-CM quiz with a score of 80% or higher and every miss rewritten with the correct guideline citation
Core Coding Knowledge (ICD-10-CM, CPT, HCPCS Level II, guidelines and sequencing)
Locate any CPT code within 90 seconds using index-then-Tabular navigation across all six sections
Assign correct CPT and HCPCS Level II codes to 30 operative reports spanning integumentary, musculoskeletal, and digestive systems
Apply bundling intuition by flagging code pairs that likely conflict before checking edits
Distinguish CPT Category I, II, and III code purposes and when each is reportable
Your checkpoint
30-case code abstraction worksheet with code, section, and a one-sentence rationale for each assigned code
Outpatient and Physician Services (E/M services, procedures in physician practices, outpatient clinics, and same-day surgical centers)
Compare medical decision making (problem complexity, data, risk) against total time and select the correct E/M level for 20 office/outpatient vignettes
Apply the 2021+ office/outpatient E/M framework and differentiate it from hospital and ED E/M rules
Determine when history and exam drive level versus when they are no longer required elements
Document the level-selection rationale in audit-ready language
Your checkpoint
20-vignette E/M leveling log with MDM-or-time justification, scored at 85% or better
Outpatient and Physician Services (E/M services, procedures in physician practices, outpatient clinics, and same-day surgical centers) & Compliance and Payer Requirements (Medicare/Medicaid/commercial payer guidelines, modifiers, fraud, abuse, and compliance standards)
Select correct modifiers 25, 57, 59, XE/XS/XP/XU, 50, and 51 for 25 same-day procedure scenarios
Differentiate physician-office, outpatient hospital, and ambulatory surgery center reporting rules for the same procedure
Identify global-period and post-operative visit issues in 15 case snippets
Review your cumulative error log and re-code your ten weakest cases without looking at prior answers
Your checkpoint
Midpoint 75-question mixed-domain timed exam with a score of 75% or better plus a written list of your top three weak areas
Compliance and Payer Requirements (Medicare/Medicaid/commercial payer guidelines, modifiers, fraud, abuse, and compliance standards)
Interpret Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payer medical-necessity and coverage determinations for 15 scenarios
Apply NCCI edits (column one/column two, mutually exclusive, modifiers allowed) to resolve bundling questions
Evaluate Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN) and non-covered service handling in outpatient settings
Construct a modifier decision tree you can reuse on any claim
Your checkpoint
Modifier decision tree plus a 15-case claim log showing modifier chosen, supporting edit or policy, and outcome
Compliance and Payer Requirements (Medicare/Medicaid/commercial payer guidelines, modifiers, fraud, abuse, and compliance standards)
Distinguish fraud from abuse using intent, and match real-world patterns to the correct category
Identify the key federal statutes (False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback, Stark) and what each prohibits in plain terms
Perform a documentation audit on sample records against payer and coding standards
Draft corrective actions for the three most common audit findings
Your checkpoint
Mock compliance audit of 15 simulated charts with a one-page findings-and-corrective-action memo
Core Coding Knowledge (ICD-10-CM, CPT, HCPCS Level II, guidelines and sequencing) & Outpatient and Physician Services (E/M services, procedures in physician practices, outpatient clinics, and same-day surgical centers) & Compliance and Payer Requirements (Medicare/Medicaid/commercial payer guidelines, modifiers, fraud, abuse, and compliance standards)
Complete mixed-domain practice sets under a 1.5-minute-per-question pace and log timing per question
Re-code every item from your cumulative error log and verify the fix against official guidelines
Rank your remaining weak areas by frequency of misses and target the top two with focused drills
Practice tab-and-highlight navigation speed on 40 code-lookup questions
Your checkpoint
Full-length 150-question timed practice exam with an itemized score report by domain and a ranked remediation list
Core Coding Knowledge (ICD-10-CM, CPT, HCPCS Level II, guidelines and sequencing) & Outpatient and Physician Services (E/M services, procedures in physician practices, outpatient clinics, and same-day surgical centers) & Compliance and Payer Requirements (Medicare/Medicaid/commercial payer guidelines, modifiers, fraud, abuse, and compliance standards)
Re-attempt every missed question from weeks 1 through 7 and confirm correct reasoning without notes
Simulate exam-day conditions with a second full-length timed mock including breaks
Condense all three domains into a single one-page rule sheet you can review in 10 minutes
Verify you can state the key sequencing, modifier, and E/M leveling rules aloud without reference
Your checkpoint
Second full-length mock exam scored at 85% or higher plus a finalized one-page rule sheet
Milestones
Week 2: Complete a 40-code ICD-10-CM and CPT mixed lookup drill at 80% accuracy within 60 minutes
Week 4: Score 75% or higher on the 75-question midpoint exam, with no domain below 70%
Week 6: Produce an audit memo that correctly labels at least 10 of 12 seeded fraud/abuse/compliance issues
Week 8: Score 85% or higher on the final full-length mock and have zero unflagged items remaining in the error log