Free Practice Questions for AAPC CPC Exam

99393 = Preventive visit, established patient, age 5–11

Preventive codes are based on age and patient status, not time since last visit

Procedure: Caloric vestibular testing performed on both ears with three irrigations.

CPT® Code:

92537: Caloric vestibular test with recording, bilateral; bithermal (i.e., one warm and one cool irrigation in each ear).

Modifier -50: Bilateral procedure.

Code Selection Justification: The procedure performed was bilateral caloric vestibular testing with bithermal irrigation, appropriately coded with 92537 and modifier -50 for bilateral procedures.

AMA CPT® Professional Edition (current year)

Lesion excision codes in the CPT® codebook include the removal of the lesion along with the necessary margins and a simple (nonlayered) closure when performed. These codes do not cover intermediate or complex closures, which are reported separately if performed. The measurement for selecting the appropriate lesion excision code includes the lesion and the margins required for complete excision.

AMA's CPT® Professional Edition, lesion excision guidelines.

The documented study is atransvaginal pelvic ultrasound, which is coded with76830(ultrasound, transvaginal). Because the service is billed by anindependent radiologist providing only the interpretation, the correct reporting is theprofessional componentwith modifier-26(interpretation and report), not the global code. That makes76830-26the correct CPT selection. Code76817is fortransvaginal ultrasound in pregnancy/obstetric contexts, which is not supported here (the patient is menopausal and no pregnancy evaluation is described). For diagnosis, the chief complaint isuterine cramping, and the options provide pelvic pain codes;N94.89(other specified conditions associated with female genital organs and menstrual cycle) is the best match among the choices provided for uterine cramping/pelvic symptom documentation.N94.9is less specific (“unspecified”), so when a more specific option is available in the answer set, selectN94.89. Therefore, the correct combination for the interpreting independent radiologist is76830-26, N94.89.

According to ICD-10-CM coding guidelines for substance use, abuse, and dependence, when multiple levels (use, abuse, and dependence) of the same substance are documented, only the highest level of severity is coded. The hierarchy is as follows: dependence > abuse > use.

D. If both use and dependence are documented, assign only the code for dependence is correct, as dependence represents the highest severity level and supersedes both use and abuse.

A. is incorrect because if both use and abuse are documented without dependence, only abuse would be coded as it is of a higher severity than use.

B. is incorrect because all three codes (use, abuse, dependence) should not be reported together; only the highest level should be coded.

C. is incorrect because if both abuse and dependence are documented, only dependence (the higher severity level) should be coded, not abuse.

Therefore, the correct answer is D. If both use and dependence are documented, assign only the code for dependence.

To accurately code a pressure ulcer in ICD-10-CM, the code must reflect the ulcer's location and stage. The codes for pressure ulcers specify both the anatomical site and the stage (extent of tissue damage).

L89.613 represents a pressure ulcer on the right heel at stage 3. The stage is critical as it indicates the severity of the ulcer, with stage 3 involving full-thickness skin loss and possibly visible subcutaneous tissue.

A. L89.609 refers to a pressure ulcer on the heel but without specific staging.

C. L89.619 is for a pressure ulcer on the right heel at stage 4, which indicates a more severe level of tissue damage than stage 3.

D. L89.603 represents a stage 3 pressure ulcer but on the left heel, not the right.

Therefore, the correct answer is B. L89.613 for a stage 3 pressure ulcer on the right heel.

45346 = Sigmoidoscopy with ablation (reported once)

K63.5 = Polyp of colon

99291: This code is used for the first 30-74 minutes of critical care, evaluation, and management of the critically ill or critically injured patient.

99292: This code is used for each additional 30 minutes of critical care service beyond the first 74 minutes.

The documentation indicates that the patient received a total of 45 minutes of critical care, which involves continuous IV insulin for diabetic ketoacidosis, administration of antiemetics, and admission to the ICU. The critical care time documented justifies the use of 99291 for the first 30-74 minutes and 99292 for each additional 30 minutes.

CPT® Professional Edition, AMA

This is aninitial hospital service(admitted this morning; “reason for admission”), so the correct E/M family isinitial hospital inpatient/observation carerather than subsequent hospital care (99232/99233). The encounter includes a detailed history, comprehensive exam elements focused on abdominal pathology, and meaningful initial management: NPO, IV fluids,IV morphine, ordering and reviewing lab panels, and ordering imaging (ultrasound and HIDA) with possible surgical consultation—supporting at leastmoderate MDM, consistent with99222in typical CPC exam mapping. Diagnosis coding: “rule out cholecystitis” is not a confirmed inpatient discharge diagnosis in the provided note; at this stage the physician’s final assessment isRUQ abdominal pain, rule out cholecystitis. Therefore, you report thesign/symptomcodeR10.11 (right upper quadrant pain)rather thanK81.9(cholecystitis, unspecified), because cholecystitis is not established as definitive in the note. Option A correctly pairs an initial hospital E/M code with the symptom diagnosis supported by documentation.

Intermediate repair includes single-layer closure with extensive cleaning, debridement, or removal of debris, or layered closure of one or more deeper layers.

Option B meets the definition due to extensive cleaning and debris removal.

Option C would be a complex repair.

Option D is a simple repair.

Extensive undermining alone does not define intermediate repair.