Preparing for the Medical Billing Certification Exam through AAPC

I am commonly asked by my students how to prepare for the medical billing certification exam through AAPC.  Here are the steps that I suggest to my own medical billing students:

Step 1: Get good medical billing training. The gold standard text for teaching medical billing is the Understanding Health Insurance book by Michelle Green and JoAnn C. Rowell. Make sure that you are passing the chapter review tests in the 80s before moving on to another chapter. Your training should contain an online component to bring out important points in each chapter. Also, you need a qualified instructor available to answer your questions as you work through the material.

Preparing for the Medical Billing Certification Exam through AAPC

Step 2: I recommend buying mock exams to practice with. AAPC has one such exam. CodingCertification.org will be offering mock exams for this national test soon.

Step 3: Read your textbook one more time, but do so like it’s an interesting novel rather than a textbook. In this way, you relax your mind and may catch some points that formally went a bit over your head :).

Step 4: Create your own mock exams. Go through each chapter again in your text and write down 3-5 questions that YOU would put on a national board exam. Then, take your own test :).  Study your test and answers.

Step 5: I love flash cards. You may want to visit a site like quizlet.com and see search under “Understanding Health Insurance” to see if someone already created flash cards for this text. If not, create your own and quiz yourself.

Step 6: Schedule the exam. Decide that your first attempt is a “practice” attempt. If you pass it, GREAT! Bravo! You did it! If not, do not despair. You now have seen the actual test and have come away with valuable information on how to pass it the next time. Reschedule your exam. Study your past notes, redo your practice exams, and focus on the areas that you are weak in.  You will do well on your next attempt!

By: Dawn Moreno, PhD, CBCS, CMAA, MTC. Lives in the beautiful Southwest United States and has been an instructor for medical coding/billing for the past 7 years.  Interested in quality medical billing training?  More of Medical Billing Online Courses Here

Find out More information about Medical Billing Certification Exam

School for Medical Coding – Coding and Billing Certification – Video

AAPC – Medical Billing Certification