Certified General Surgery Coder (CGSC™) Credential
The Certified General Surgery Coder exam was developed by a team of leading general surgery coding professionals. Those coders with sufficient experience and expertise in general surgery coding are encouraged to sit for the CGSC™ exam.
The CGSC™ examinee will be tested on:
- Ability to read and dissect operative notes to apply correct ICD-9-CM, CPT®, HCPCS Level II and modifier coding assignment
- Evaluation and management (both the 1995 and 1997 Documentation Guidelines)
- Rules and regulations of Medicare billing including (but not limited to) incident to, teaching situations, shared visits, consultations and global surgery
- Coding of surgical procedures performed by general surgeons such as colonoscopy, hernia repairs, breast procedures, transplants, etc.
- Medical terminology
- Anatomy and physiology
Locate/Schedule an Exam Prepare for Exam
Specialty Exams
- 150 multiple choice questions (proctored)
- 5 hours and 40 minutes to finish the exam
- 1 free retake
- $245.00
- Open code book (manuals)
Reviewed by a General Surgery Steering Committee:
- Connie Martin, CPC®, CGSC
- Rhonda Buckholtz, CPC®, CPC-I®, CENTC, CGSC, COBGC, CPEDC, CPMA®
- Rebecca Queer, CPC®, CEMC, CGIC, CGSC, COBGC, CPMA®
- Shelly Cronin, CPC®, CGSC, CANPC, CGIC, CPMA®
- Debra Mariani, CPC®, CGSC
Specialty exams aptly measure preparedness for “real-world” coding by being operative/patient-note based. In addition to questions regarding the correct application of ICD-9-CM, CPT®, HCPCS Level II and modifier coding assignments, examinees will also be tested on specialty-specific coding and regulations.
Requirements
- Must schedule examination four weeks in advance
- Must have current AAPC membership
- While there is no requirement, we strongly recommend that the candidate has at least two years of experience in the specialty. Please be aware that these are difficult, high-level examinations not meant for individuals with little, limited or no coding experience
Recognition
Examinees that pass a Specialty certification examination will receive recognition in the Coding Edge within three months of their examination date and will receive a diploma suitable for framing.
Approved Manuals for Use During Examination
Required References:
- CPT® Books (AMA standard or professional edition ONLY). No other publisher is allowed
- Your choice of ICD-9-CM
- Your choice of HCPCS Level II
Highly Recommended References:
Optional References:
- One reference of your choice
Note:
Any officially published corrections or errata belonging to required references are also permitted. The AAPC uses only the current calendar year codes on all exams. Second attempt exams occurring in the next calendar year will not be permitted to take the previous year’s exam.
Non-Approved Manuals for Use During Examination
Due to the advantages of additional information and/or ease of use, the following references cannot be used during the exam:
- Current Procedural Coding Expert® - Ingenix
- Procedural Coding Professional - Contexo
- Procedural Coding Professional - AAPC
- Procedural Coding Expert - Contexo
- Procedural Coding Expert - AAPC
- CPT® Insider's View - AMA
- CPT® Plus! - PMIC
- Coders' Choice CPT® - PMIC
- ICD-9-CM Easy Coder - Unicor
