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Q#7: The best ICD medical coding books?
They mean textbook, I think?
Alicia: Textbook or manual, I wonder?
Laureen: A: Well, if it’s textbook I like the one that Alicia is teaching from. What’s the name of that one? Understanding –
Alicia: Yeah. Understanding ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS: A Worktext. You can get it through Cengage and Mary Jo Bowie is the author. That is the one that we used at the college to teach basic ICD-9 and CPT, and it has lots of practice in it and it’s got a lot of information and guidelines.
Laureen: I like Carol Buck’s book as well. It’s just that you get all the other coding information in addition to ICD-10; but if you already have her manual that’s either last year’s or last year’s foreword she has information on ICD-10. And don’t forget the AAPC now has a textbook on it as well, but I would say in the order that we just went through them is how I would recommend, if you wanted to get a textbook to refer to.
Understanding ICD 10 CM – Medical Coding Books – Video
Q#8: If you’re certified with the AAPC now, do you have to be recertified with ICD-10?
A: The proficiency assessment is what you need to take, that you pay your $60 and you sit down for 3-1/2 hours at your computer and in one shot you just answer 75 questions. If you pass, you’re done. If you don’t pass, you get another try. If you don’t pass again, you pay another $60 and get two more tries. That’s the proficiency assessment. We’re not calling it an exam. It’s not a proctored thing; it’s just a proficiency assessment. You can use any tools you want at your computer screen. You can have a PDF version of the ICD guidelines which is how we’re training our people so that they can use the search features of it. If you want to use an online encoder like Find-A-code, or SuperCoder, and if it makes you quicker, then by all means, use that.
Q#9: How many questions are there?
A: There are 75 or 150 depending on which version you pick. If you go to AAPC.com and you hover over ICD-10 and come down here to proficiency assessment step five. It’s going to show you your two choices, and Alicia and I are advising choice number two.
Alicia: A lot less stressful. Someone just mentioned option 1 you have to get 100% right.
Laureen: Ew!
Alicia: I don’t know if that’s accurate or not but that would be hard [laughs].
Laureen: I don’t –
Alicia: I don’t know if that’s right or not, but that is something I think I would inquire to them about that.
Laureen: Yeah, because it’s too hard..
Alicia: Someone mentioned it on the –
Laureen: Too great to get 100% in coding.
Alicia: Someone also, Janet is saying, “I’d like to emphasize that ICD-9 test is even more important going into the transition for ICD-10 especially for auditing old records.”
Laureen: Yes.
Alicia: Which is really true. That’s another point I have not thought to mention.