Medical coding certification exam review guides

My Preparation for the Exams

I passed AHIMA's Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) and Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) certification examinations several years ago on my first try with flying colors. This is what I did to prepare for these exams.

RHIT Exam

School -- I reviewed my health information technology program textbooks and exams.
Textbook -- I mostly used our main textbook Health Information: Management of Strategic Resource by Abdelhak for my exam preparation. This was before AHIMA published their textbooks for the RHIT and RHIA programs. See my HIM books page for all these books.
Review guide -- In addition, I used the Professional Review Guide for the RHIT Exam book for test practice. This book is also known as the "PRG study (review) guide" for the RHIT and RHIA examinations. It was originally published by the PRG Publishing company, but Delmar Cengage Learning acquired them in 2005.
Timeline -- I took the exam a few months after graduation. The HIT program material was still fresh in my mind.

CCS Exam

Work -- I coded inpatient and same-day-surgery cases at work and reviewed Coding Clinic and CPT Assistant newsletters (see resources) as needed. This work experience was the single most important factor in my very successful passing of the exam. The exam was pretty much just another day at work!
Guidelines -- I read the Official Coding Guidelines very carefully and made sure I understood them well. The official coding guidelines are currently over 100 pages long, so there's plenty to learn. Go to my coding links page to download your free copy.
Faye Brown -- I read Faye Brown's ICD-9-CM Coding Handbook for review. It is the best and most well-known ICD-9-CM coding textbook.
PRG guide -- I used the Professional Review Guide for the CCS Examination book (see below under CCS) for exam practice. This book is also called the "PRG review guide" or the "PRG study guide" for CCS. It is a very popular review guide for CCS prep.
Coding Workout -- For additional coding practice, I used a predecessor of the Clinical Coding Workout book. This book was called Coding in Context then, and it was my favorite coding practice book.
In summary -- Basically, know the official coding guidelines well and practice, practice, and practice coding.

If you'd like to share how you prepared for coding certification exams, please post your flower message on my comments board.

Note: All exam study guides and textbooks may have occasional errors. If you don't agree with the answer given, dig deeper into the issue and find out yourself what the correct answer might be. Good practice for your future coding job! Coding rules and guidelines have a lot of gray areas that cause debate among coders.

CCS Exam Study Guides
	Certified Coding Specialist (CCS): Review Guide *new by Jennifer Hornung Garvin AHIMA, Jan 2009, 1st edition a targeted review of ICD-9 and CPT, multiple choice questions, and cases for practicing CPT, ICD-9-CM, and HCPCS Level II coding ISBN-10: 1584262052 ISBN-13: 978-1584262053
	Professional Review Guide for the CCS Examination, 2008 by Patricia Schnering Cengage Delmar Learning (was Thompson Delmar Learning) a very popular CCS exam review guide, updated yearly often called the "PRG study guide" for CCS (it was originally published by PRG Publishing) ISBN-10: 1435419316 ISBN-13: 978-1435419315 previous edition: 2007
	CCS Coding Exam Review: The Certification Step, 2008 by Carol J. Buck W. B. Saunders Company ISBN-10: 1416036830 ISBN-13: 978-1416036838 previous edition: 2007 the 2009 edition will be released Dec 2008
	The Extra Step: Facility Based Coding Practice by Carol Buck W.B. Saunders Company real-world coding cases to prepare for CCS and CPC-H exams over 100 cases in 13 specialties March 2006
	Medical Coding Specialist's Exam Review: Hospital by Lynette Olsen review for CCS and CPC-H exams published October 2005
Other CCS study guides	Study Guide Series by Linda Kobayashi
CCS-P Exam Study Guides
	Professional Review Guide for the CCS-P Examination, 2008 by Patricia Schnering Cengage Delmar Learning (was Thompson Delmar Learning) aka "PRG study guide" for CCS-P ISBN-10: 1435419324 ISBN-13: 978-1435419322 previous edition: 2007
	CCS-P Coding Exam Review 2008: The Certification Step by Carol Buck W. B. Saunders Company ISBN-10: 141603692X ISBN-13: 978-1416036920 previous edition: 2007
	The Extra Step: Physician Based Coding Practice by Carol Buck from W.B. Saunders Company real-world coding cases to prepare for CCS-P and CPC exams over 150 cases in 18 medical specialties with answers and explanations, with CD-ROM March 2006 the 2009 edition will be released Dec 2008
	Medical Coding Specialist's Exam Review: Physician by Lynette Olsen review for CCS-P and CPC exams October 2004
Other CCS-P study guides	Certified Coding Specialist (CCS-P) Physician-based: Exam Preparation by Lynn Kuehn
CCA Exam Study Guides
	Professional Review Guide for the CCA Examination, 2008 by Patricia Schnering Cengage Delmar Learning (was Thompson Delmar Learning) aka "PRG study guide" for CCA ISBN-10: 1435419340 ISBN-13: 978-1435419346 previous edition: 2007
CPC Exam Study Guides
	CPC Coding Exam Review 2008: The Certification Step by Carol Buck W.B. Saunders Company review for CCS-P and CPC exams ISBN-10: 141603711X ISBN-13: 978-1416037118 previous edition: 2007 the 2009 edition will be released Dec 2008
	The Extra Step: Physician Based Coding Practice by Carol Buck W.B. Saunders Company real-world coding cases to prepare for CCS-P and CPC exams March 2006 the 2009 edition will be released Dec 2008
	Medical Coding Specialist's Exam Review: Physician by Lynette Olsen review for CCS-P and CPC exams 1st edition, October 2004
CPC-H Exam Study Guides
	CPC-H Coding Exam Review: The Certification Step, 2008 by Carol Buck W. B. Saunders Company ISBN-10: 1416037217 ISBN-13: 978-1416037217 previous edtion: 2007
	The Extra Step: Facility Based Coding Practice by Carol Buck W.B. Saunders Company real-world coding cases to prepare for CCS and CPC-H exams over 100 cases in 13 specialties March 2006
	Medical Coding Specialist's Exam Review: Hospital by Lynette Olsen review for CCS and CPC-H exams 1st edition, October 2005

AHIMA coding credentials - CCS, CCS-P, and CCA
AAPC coding credentials - CPC, CPC-H, and CPC-P
See the medical coding credentials page for explanations.