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CPC STUDY COURSE · 2026 EDITION

Code Book Gym

Practice finding the right instruction in your authorized code books and measure your lookup time.

Choose a lookup, start the timer, and find the instruction in your book. Write the location and your own explanation before comparing the guide. These drills measure navigation practice; they do not award assessment or readiness credit.

All lookup exercises

Verify an Index candidate

ICD-10-CM: Find the official instruction requiring the Tabular List after an Alphabetic Index lookup. Record its section and explain why an Index entry without a dash still needs checking.

Read the lookup guide

Locate official guideline I.B.1. The candidate must be verified in the Tabular List, including required characters and instructions. Absence of an Index dash does not remove this step.

Reference: I.B.1

  1. CDC/NCHS and CMS — ICD-10-CM April 1 2026 Guidelines. FY2026 April. Accessed 2026-09-10.

Find the Excludes1 rule

ICD-10-CM: Locate the Excludes1 convention and its unrelated-condition exception. Write the section reference and the question you would ask when the relationship is unclear.

Read the lookup guide

Read I.A.12.a in full. Do not stop at the general exclusion meaning; the guidance includes an exception for unrelated conditions and calls for clarification when their relationship is unclear.

Reference: I.A.12.a

  1. CDC/NCHS and CMS — ICD-10-CM April 1 2026 Guidelines. FY2026 April. Accessed 2026-09-10.

Find outpatient certainty

ICD-10-CM: Find the outpatient rule for a diagnosis documented as possible or suspected. Record the reference and explain what level of certainty is reported instead.

Read the lookup guide

Locate IV.H and read it with the outpatient symptom guidance. Do not code an uncertain outpatient diagnosis as established; report the supported highest degree of certainty for the encounter.

Reference: IV.H

  1. CDC/NCHS and CMS — ICD-10-CM April 1 2026 Guidelines. FY2026 April. Accessed 2026-09-10.

Find the injury treatment-phase rule

ICD-10-CM: Locate the guidance that distinguishes active treatment, routine healing care and a residual condition. Explain why a new clinician does not automatically mean an initial encounter character.

Read the lookup guide

Locate I.C.19.a. The character follows treatment phase rather than the first meeting with a particular clinician. Read the separate fracture instructions when they apply.

Reference: I.C.19.a

  1. CDC/NCHS and CMS — ICD-10-CM April 1 2026 Guidelines. FY2026 April. Accessed 2026-09-10.

Find the neoplasm starting point

ICD-10-CM: Locate the chapter guidance explaining where to begin when a histological tumor term is documented. Record the route from that term to final verification.

Read the lookup guide

Read I.C.2 general guidance. Start with the documented histological term when supplied, use the appropriate table route and behavior column, then verify the candidate in the Tabular List.

Reference: I.C.2, general guidance

  1. CDC/NCHS and CMS — ICD-10-CM April 1 2026 Guidelines. FY2026 April. Accessed 2026-09-10.

Check the HCPCS effective quarter

HCPCS Level II: Find the CMS quarterly file that applies to an August 2026 service. Record the effective quarter and explain why an already-posted October file does not apply yet.

Read the lookup guide

Use the July 2026 release for the stated service date, subject to applicable corrections. Publication and effective dates are separate facts; a future-effective file can be posted early.

Reference: 2026 quarterly files

  1. CMS — HCPCS Quarterly Update. 2026 Q3. Accessed 2026-09-10.

Read a drug billing unit

HCPCS Level II: In the July 2026 reference, find the entry for dexamethasone sodium phosphate. Record the exact formulation and the amount represented by one billing unit. Keep this distinct from the administration service.

Read the lookup guide

Verify the named formulation in the current entry. The selected July reference defines a 1 mg billing unit. A vial or volume is not automatically one unit, and the product entry does not establish the administration procedure.

Reference: July 2026 selected entry; NCCI XII.D.6

  1. CMS — HCPCS Quarterly Update. 2026 Q3. Accessed 2026-09-10.
  2. CMS — Medicare NCCI 2026 Chapter XII: Supplemental Services. 2026 service window. Accessed 2026-09-10.

Find the CPT instruction locations

CPT Professional: Open your authorized book and locate the introduction, a section guideline, a parenthetical instruction and an appendix. Record your own section references without copying descriptors.

Read the lookup guide

A code line is only part of the lookup. Instructions can appear in each of these places. Read the full entry and applicable guidance against the documented work; page numbers depend on your edition.

Reference: I

  1. CMS — Medicare NCCI 2026 Chapter I: General Correct Coding Policies. 2026. Accessed 2026-09-10.

Find an add-on instruction

CPT Professional: Use your book's symbol key to find an add-on entry. Record the section and the instruction identifying the primary-service relationship. Explain what you must verify before using it.

Read the lookup guide

The plus symbol identifies an add-on entry. Check the permitted primary relationship and whether the supplemental work actually occurred. For Medicare, also check the applicable add-on edit requirements.

Reference: Identifying add-on codes; I.R

  1. CMS — Medicare NCCI Add-on Code Edits. 2026. Accessed 2026-09-10.
  2. CMS — Medicare NCCI 2026 Chapter I: General Correct Coding Policies. 2026. Accessed 2026-09-10.

Find the separate-procedure guidance

CPT Professional: Locate a separate-procedure designation in your authorized book and read the relevant guidance. Then find Medicare's interpretation in NCCI Chapter I. Record the reference and explain why the phrase is not automatic permission for separate reporting.

Read the lookup guide

NCCI I.J addresses related work and circumstances that can qualify as distinct. Assess the documented relationship, encounter and anatomy before considering a modifier. A separate sentence in a report does not establish a separate service.

Reference: J

  1. CMS — Medicare NCCI 2026 Chapter I: General Correct Coding Policies. 2026. Accessed 2026-09-10.