In general, for the CPC exam, you will not have the time to look up every code in the Index first. Learn to compare and contrast the codes, and I think you will fare better on the exam. ALso, spend time getting intimate with the guidelines. That is what the test is about, really.
If you are familiar with the guidelines and some common codes you will be able to narrow down the answer choices and just look up the codes you need to. For example, if you see the same ICD9 code listed twice in an answer choice, you know that answer is wrong because it violates a guideline. If you are familiar with burn codes, you may be able to eliminate an answer choice because you spot an extent code that is clearly out of whack for your scenario. Or maybe a repeated subcategory code for burns... and you know that violates a guideline. So try to train yourself to notice the easy wrong answers.
Most of the time you can just compare on contrast the codes, as often the CPT codes are going to be on the same page. If, for example, you are coding for a VBAC delivery , most likely the codes in all the answer choices are going to be listed in the tabular within a page or two of each other. Because you have bubble and highlighted your book it is going to easier, faster, to find the specific code for, say, "VBAC including postpartum care" by just looking at the code choices, going to a likely code for that in the tabular. Once you are in the tabular, you are familiar enough with the layout that even if you guessed wrong on which code to find at first in the tabular, you can quickly move to the VBAC section and pick out the correct code. So this saves going to the index first and for most people will be the most expedient way to find the correct answer choice.
I will say that for ICD-10 I have better success using the index first, maybe because I can more quickly scan the index than I can the tabular. ICD10 has so many codes for very similar conditions and it is easy to get loss in the tabular and not notice that you are in the (slightly, but definitely) wrong subcategory or "sub-subcategory". I used the ICD10 index a lot when I took the proficiency assessment. But I still kept my eye out for answer choices that I could easily eliminate by knowing the guidelines.
Hope this helps!
