With some physicians choosing to join hospital groups over private practices, the need for certified outpatient coders continues to escalate, making COC certification a smart career move. A COC certification demonstrates your mastery of outpatient hospital coding, including working knowledge of ambulatory payment classifications (APCs), payment status indicators, and Medicare severity-diagnosis-related groups (MS-DRGs). Coders who earn their COC credential go on to report outpatient services in a variety of settings, such as:
Hospital emergency departments
Outpatient hospital clinics
Outpatient therapy departments
Outpatient cancer centers
Dialysis services
Outpatient radiology departments
Ambulatory surgery centers
Exam format
100 multiple-choice questions
Two ways to take the exam
Choose to take the exam online at home with a live remote proctor, or on a computer at a testing center. Learn more about your exam options and how to prepare.
Time allowed
Exams are administered in one sitting, with four hours to complete the exam.
Equipment required for exam
Our live remote proctored exam requires a closed room free from distraction with window coverings, a reliable, high-speed internet connection, a computer, and an external webcam that can be positioned to show your face, hands, keyboard, and the area around the keyboard (about 10 inches).
Exams taken at a testing center do not require any special equipment from the test-taker.
Experience requirements
A high-level knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, and pathophysiology, along with understanding of the proper application of CPT® procedure codes, HCPCS Level II procedure and supply codes, and ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes.
Not ready yet? We recommend taking our COC preparation course.
Approved code books
AMA's CPT® Professional Edition (current year)
ICD-10-CM (current year), any publisher
HCPCS Level II (current year), any publisher
Current year books are highly recommended as code sets are updated annually. You may choose to utilize books from the preceding year, the current year, or a
combination of both; however, only one copy of each book is allowed.
Any officially published updates (errata) for the above code books may also be used.
Maintaining your certification
To maintain your dual credentials, you must maintain your AAPC annual membership, and earn 40 continuing education units (CEUs) every two years.
Pricing
An exam purchase includes two exam attempts for $499.
About the COC exam
The COC exam contains 100 multiple-choice questions (proctored). The exam consists of questions regarding the correct application of CPT®, HCPCS Level II procedure and supply codes, and ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes used for coding and billing outpatient facility/hospital and freestanding ASC services to insurance companies.
Whether you take the exam online or in-person, you must complete the COC exam within four hours and answer 70% of the questions correctly to pass.
For more information, click here!