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Effective April 1, 2013 the CCA exam candidates will be allowed to use the 2012 or 2013 version of the ICD-9 codebooks. The 2013 AMA CPT book is required. Please review the list of allowable codebooks if you have any questions. Candidates that do not present the correct versions of codebooks will forfeit their exam fees. (updated February 12, 2013)
Based upon job analysis standards and state-of-the-art test construction, the CCA designation has been a nationally accepted standard of achievement in the health information management (HIM) field since 2002. More than 8,000 people have attained the certification since inception. The CCA is the only HIM credential worldwide currently accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
The CCA credential distinguishes coders by exhibiting commitment and demonstrating coding competencies across all settings, including both hospitals and physician practices. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a shortage of more than 50,000 qualified HIM and HIT workers by 2015. Becoming a CCA positions you as a leader in an exciting and growing market. CCAs:
The CCA exhibits coding competency in any setting, including both hospitals and physician practices. The CCS® and CCS-P® exams demonstrate mastery level skills in an area of specialty: hospital-based for CCS's and physician practice-based for CCS-Ps.
Required:
Recommended (not required):
Training and Recommendations (expanded recommendations) :
Applying for the Exam
Submitting an Application
Before submitting an application, carefully review the information contained in this guide. It is the candidate's responsibility to ensure eligibility before submitting the application. Applicants who are determined to be ineligible and submit an ineligible application or request withdrawal of their application, will receive a refund of the application fee minus a $75 processing fee.
Applicants may register online or by submitting a paper application .
The CCA exam is based on ICD-9-CM codes effective October 1, 2011, and CPT codes effective January 1, 2012. Only the American Medical Association CPT codebook is permitted. HCPCS II codebooks and ICD-9-CM codebooks containing HCPCS national level II codebooks are not permitted for this examination.
Candidates who report to the test center with incorrect code books (i.e. incorrect version, books not on the list of allowable code books) will not be permitted to test and will forfeit their exam application fee.
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2 hour, 100 multiple-choice item examination consisting of 90 scored items and 10 pretest items.
Candidates' scores are based solely upon the number of scored items on the exam - pretest items do not affect the candidates' score. Pretest questions are administered to evaluate the item's difficulty level for possible inclusion as a scored question in future exams. These pretest questions are dispersed throughout the exam and cannot be identified by the candidate.
A certification examination is based on an explicit set of competencies. These competencies have been determined through a job analysis study conducted of practitioners. The competencies are divided into domains and tasks as shown in the PDF below. Examinations test only content pertaining to the following competencies.
The application fee for the CCA exam is $199.00 for AHIMA members and $299.00 for non-members.
A candidate’s eligibility period is defined in the Authorization to Test letter (ATT) as a four-month window in which candidates are required to schedule their exam appointment. Candidates who fail to schedule an examination appointment within their eligibility period indicated in their ATT will forfeit their application fee. A complete application and examination fee are required to reapply for the examination.
Pearson Vue will send an ATT letter to the candidate once all application materials are complete and eligibility has been confirmed. If the application is incomplete, the candidate will be sent further instructions for completion of the application. Candidates who are determined to be ineligible, submit an ineligible application, or request the withdrawal of their application, will receive a refund of their application fee less a $75 processing fee. Please allow one to two weeks for processing from the time you submit your completed application to the time you receive your ATT which will allow you to make an appointment to schedule the exam. All applicants are strongly encouraged to send the application and fee via a traceable method.
Candidates who have taken the exam and were unsuccessful must wait a minimum of 45 days between administrations. To retake an exam, the candidate must reapply by submitting a current application with the appropriate fee.
Examination refund requests take 6-8 weeks to process.