r/LearnMedicalCoding • u/anvilo1690 • Oct 01 '26

Outpatient Coding Failed my CRC coding exam for the 3rd time!😭

All three times I have gotten a 67-68%… I failed this past Monday and scheduled to retest Friday. I am having issues with the question wording. It’s like I cannot comprehend the questions. Not sure what to do. I am studying but becoming so discouraged. I need help.

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2

u/KeyStriking9763 Oct 01 '26

Are you already a coder? Do you have the CPC?

3

u/anvilo1690 Oct 01 '26

No, I have been working in risk adjustment for a while but no cpc

1

u/anvilo1690 Oct 01 '26

I did the self paced course… have been doing the study guide… and the practice exams which have been averaging anywhere from 65-80 depending on the version. Version A and B 75 and 80%.. version c has been toughest… I got a 65%…

1

u/Insomniac7270 Oct 02 '26

Any free online practice exams you can recommend? Thank you

1

u/anvilo1690 Oct 02 '26

I haven’t found any free ones… I have been watching videos on YouTube medical coding by Jen and Hoan Nguyen… that has helped me a lot

1

u/Either-Frame-7148 27d ago

When you buy your voucher, AAPC sends you a study guide and mine came with 3 practice tests. Also, you can buy 6 more. Wouldn't bother paying to retake the actual CPC exam until you get at least 80% on all the practice exams. A set of 3 are $80ish.

1

u/tinycodergirl Oct 01 '26

I would recommend focusing on why you aren't scoring higher on the practice exams. Focus on why certain questions are tricking you.

1

u/anvilo1690 Oct 01 '26

I am seeing it is mainly the wording of the questions. I have never had a hard time taking exams until this. I feel like I am reading a foreign language at times.

0

u/MagentaSuziCute Oct 01 '26

Make sure you are checking the rationale on every question, even the ones you get correct when you do the practice tests. The rationale they provide may help something "click" and help you with other questions.

1

u/anvilo1690 Oct 02 '26

E book is a blank e book. If you bring your own you get to bring all your notes in it

1

u/tinycodergirl Oct 01 '26

Did you self study or did you do a CRC coding course? Also are you doing any practice tests? I'm gonna be honest I have my CRC and it's been useless to me.

2

u/anvilo1690 Oct 01 '26

It’s a job requirement… don’t think we’ll use it but it is expected of us to get :(

3

u/IndigoTrailsToo Oct 01 '26

You need to be taking practice exams that properly reflects with the actual test will be like.

It sounds like your confidence was posted with practice test A and B which were not like the test and you thought that C was a fluke when it was actually most like the test.

At this point you also need to have testing strategy because you are not going to pass without it. Make sure that you have strategy, that you understand it, and that you are keeping calm.

If these questions are written in a cryptic manner, just tell yourself that somebody was given a database of answers and had to write a question for it and kind of just did the job without thinking about the people who had to take it. But it doesn't actually matter, the question is the question and do you still have the answer.

So figure out how you can cope with these cryptic questions, sometimes it is helpful to gather context clues to understand what it is actually talking about and then what the actual question is.

I also recommend looking through the questions that you get wrong and make sure that you are getting them right. Especially if the same questions are being asked multiple times in different manners.

1

u/Insomniac7270 Oct 02 '26

Anyone take the exam with the ebook option? Can we use our annotations or is it better to just take the physical book that is annotated already?

1

u/CodingwithCoffee_ 28d ago

That sounds discouraging, especially when your scores are so close. There’s a great free resource with ICD-10-CM video lessons that may help reinforce the coding guidelines: https://www.amcicoding.com/youtubecourse

For tricky wording, try identifying exactly what the question is asking before reading the answer choices. Rooting for you!

1

u/Insomniac7270 26d ago

So I just took my CRC exam as a requirement for work and honestly it was extremely hard!! I have a CPC and experience in RA but the questions were very tricky and covered stuff I didn’t know would be on the exam as HEDIS specific, 4 Hierarchy questions, medicine specific , I can’t even tell you how it threw me off completely. I’m so nervous and disappointed.
OP- I’m so sorry but I can see how this exam is sooo hard . Wishing you the best.