Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions with Full Rationale Answers

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Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions and answers with full rationale

Practice Exam

CPC Practice Exam and Study Guide Package

Practice Exam

What makes a good CPC Practice Exam? Questions and Answers with Full Rationale

CPC Exam Review Video

Laureen shows you her proprietary “Bubbling and Highlighting Technique”

Download your Free copy of my "Medical Coding From Home Ebook" at the top right corner of this page

Practice Exam

2018 CPC Practice Exam Answer Key 150 Questions With Full Rationale (HCPCS, ICD-9-CM, ICD-10, CPT Codes) Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions with Full Rationale Answers

Practice Exam

Click here for more sample CPC practice exam questions and answers with full rationale

Cat. III Codes for Personal Kinetograph

The 2019 CPT® codebook will include new Category III codes to describe services related to the Personal Kinetograph (PKG), a passive, wearable devices that continuously measures and tracks the movements of patients with Parkinson’s disease. The resulting data is used to manage patient care and treat symptoms such as bradykinesia, dyskinesia and tremor. The Personal […]

The post Cat. III Codes for Personal Kinetograph appeared first on AAPC Knowledge Center.

AAPC Knowledge Center

When do pediatric codes become ‘personal history of’ for an adult? Is it 18 or 17?

Recent discussion on a denial for age specific diagnosis of T74.4XXS (Shaken syndrome) on a patient that had reached the age of 21. So, the question is at what age does the patient move from an active pediatric code to a ‘personal history of’ code? I can’t seem to find a reference any where on this specifically.

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Office Visit BEFORE Colonoscopy with Dx of Personal History Of Colon Polyps

Someone (and I forget where I heard this) told me it is acceptable to use Z09 as primary dx code when a patient comes into office with dx of Personal History Of Colon Polyps before a colonoscopy in order to get the office visit paid for. So you would bill Z09 as primary code and Z86.010 as secondary code. Anyone know if this is correct?

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Personal history coding question

I’m seeing a lot of conflicting information regarding this.

If a new patient is being seen and has "hypertension" noted on the history but not treated by the provider, do we code condition (I10) or the history code (Z86.79)?

I’m reading that if the condition is active then you should code the condition.

If it’s not active then history should be coded.

But if you’re not treating it then history should be coded.

Based on the above situation, I should code neither?

Medical Billing and Coding Forum

Personal Medical Journal – Take Charge of Your Health Care

Research suggests that patients who take a more active role in visits with their physician may have a greater sense of control and much better health outcomes. Participation in your own health care can be dramatically increased through the use on a personal medical journal. Here are several additional benefits of using this powerful management tool.

• Better Health Status – It has been observed that more effective gathering by patients, and more conversation by patients with their physician during office visits was related to better health status.

• Prevent Duplication of Tests – Keeping track of all tests and treatment history will save your time and money by avoiding duplication of tests and procedures. Repeating tests and procedures are not only costly but they can also expose you to potential medical errors.

• Increased Partnership with Physician – A personal medical journal will be your personal tool to effectively enter into a full partnership with your physician and many other health care professionals. A good partnership with your doctor begins with open communication. Keeping a complete and accurate record of your history will strengthen communication with your physician as you can provide them with useful information.

• Become Empowered – Information is the key to patient empowerment. As you gather information about your condition you will become more informed about treatment options. This will allow you to manage your condition more effectively and increase your sense of well being. You will then become empowered rather than victim to your condition.

• Improve Chance of Correct Diagnosis – According to the American Society of Internal Medicine, 70% of a correct diagnosis depends on what the patient tells the doctor. The use of a personal medical journal will help you share vital information with your physician about your symptoms. Having more data available will help your physician make better decisions. With this information-rich data at hand you may be able to provide your treatment team with the one crucial item of information that helps secure a correct diagnosis.

Take charge of your own health care with the use a personal medical journal. This will allow you to “collect and share” valuable health information with all of your providers. Use this powerful tool to help you get the best of what our health care system has to offer.

To learn additional health care communication techniques that really work, I invite you to read our special report, 5 Critical Communication Strategies. You can get a copy of the report @ http://thehealthcaresystem.com/communication to assist you in becoming an empowered health care consumer.

Related Medical Coding Articles

Medical Alarm Panic Buttons – Personal DIY Security

A medical alarm is a personal security device designed specifically for the individual. It is also commonly referred to as a personal alarm.

The panic button (or unit transmitter) is a small and portable device that can be worn as a neck pendant, a wristband, or belt clip. In the event of an emergency, all that is required is for the person to press the panic button to call for help.

DIY packages make owning and installing your own medical alarm very affordable and simple.

By doing-it-yourself, you can save the money a technician would normally charge for the installation. Choosing a stand-alone unit as opposed to the central monitored unit also saves you the monthly monitoring fees.

A Basic DIY package
DIY medical alarm packages are very easy to setup. They’re plug-and-play.

Setting up the unit is usually as simple as plugging in a phone or an answering machine. A basic DIY medical alarm package will include the…

Home base unit (or Main Unit).
Panic button or unit transmitter.
Plug-in power supply & phone cord.
Rechargeable backup battery.

Some companies offer additional accessories that you can add to the main package if you require greater security. Accessories like smoke and gas detectors, floodwater and motion sensors.

You can include a belt clip fall detector that dispatches an emergency signal the moment the person falls to the ground. Other possible accessories include things like bed and chair occupancy sensors.

How they protect you
The concept is very straightforward. All unit transmitters, detectors and sensors work in a similar way. They transmit an emergency signal back to the home base unit the moment they are triggered by some sort of action.

Panic Button – If a person physically presses the panic button, this triggers that unit transmitter sends an emergency signal back to the main unit.

Fall Detector – If the person falls to the ground, the fall detector they are wearing is displaced more than 60 degrees from the vertical position. This displacement triggers the fall detector and sends an emergency signal back to the main unit.

Occupancy Sensors – Depending on their setup, bed and chair occupancy sensors detect the absence of the person. As when an elderly person falls out of bed or out of their chair. This triggers the sensor to send an emergency signal back to the home base unit. Occupancy sensors can also be configured to detect if a person has been sitting or sleeping for too long.

How they work
A personal alarm establishes communication directly through the main unit that acts as both a loudspeaker and a microphone. If the injured person is in another room or far from the main unit, all they have to do is speak out loudly in order to be heard.

Stand-Alone – Stand-alone systems dial out a set of emergency telephone numbers that have been preselected by the system owner. Friends, family, or even emergency services can speak directly to the person who needs assistance.

Centrally Monitored – Systems that are monitored by a central calling station establish a two-way voice communication over the main unit. This allows the operator to speak directly to the person in trouble, assess the situation, and dispatch the proper help.

Newer systems now include the microphone and speaker directly on the unit transmitter. The person can speak directly into their neck pendant, wristband, or the belt clip.

GPS Tracking – Today, GPS tracking allows you to travel practically anywhere and know that your personal alarm is always monitored and that you’re always protected. In the past the unit transmitter would not work if you were too far from the home base unit. You would have to stay indoors and close to home

The DIY advantages
The advantage of a do-it-yourself system is that it simply costs you less.

Company installed medical alarms can cost you anywhere from $ 400 for the whole unit to $ 0 for the whole unit. A DIY medical alarm package will cost you a one-time flat fee of around $ 200.

Get a medical alarm that is stand-alone instead of centrally monitored.

This will eliminate the monthly monitoring fees that can be anywhere from $ 20 to $ 30 a month. The companies make their money off the monitoring fees, not the equipment. In most cases, they give you the equipment for free.

After a few months of paying for monitoring fees, you’ve already covered the cost of your personal alarm. Every payment after that (for years to come) is money out of your pocket and into the monitoring company’s pocket.

Tom Kerasias is a passionate researcher in the area of do-it-yourself home security systems.
His acquired expertise and drive, allow him to discover and share with you the best-of-breed DIY tips, techniques, and advice. To learn how to setup your own home security system, visit his website at http://www.do-it-yourself-home-security-systems.com/

DIY Tips for Personal Customer Service

Be a problem-solver by taking your member experience into your own hands. Since I first started working in customer service at AAPC in 2008, our processes, products, and (some) people have changed, but the answers to members’ most common questions remain the same. We’re always happy to assist you, but it’s equally rewarding to show […]
AAPC Knowledge Center

Establishing Your Personal Brand

When you think of a “brand” of any particular item, what comes to mind?  Nike, Levi Strauss, Mercedes Benz, Kleenex, and McDonalds might be just a few of the names that popped into your mind.  Think about each name on that list – what comes to mind?  Does a particular brand inspire you?  Make you […]
AAPC Knowledge Center