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I wish I had studied this way (below) from the start of this coding study.  I need hands on, and simply reading the chapters - well let's just say the information didn't stick and I got low grades on the exams (which gave me the opportunity to look up the correct answers and rationalize, etc. I learned a lot from that.)

Now I study like this:  I work through each chapter's little sections, looking up in the coding books each example the text presents, start from Alpha and the go to Tabular even though it is exactly what the text presents (fingers walking makes it stick to the brain better). Then if there is something that I might not remember I pencil in a reminder next to the code.  The text also often says XXXX code first, so I go to that code in the ICD and pencil that reminder.  On the exercises sometimes I have had some problems not being able to find the correct Alpha.  So with the aid of the answer sheet I go to the Alpha, go to  where I looked in the wrong places and pencil in the correct code or place to look.  That type of cross referencing has saved time and frustration because sometimes I still go to the wrong Alpha, but there is my note which sends me to the correct Alpha.  From the answer sheet sometimes I have noticed that I failed to use the PCS code, so I go to the ICD book, find the correct code and pencil in the PCS code next it, or at least the first few letters, as a reminder to use PCS.  In PCS I still look up the code in the index, again because fingers doing the walking makes it stick in my brain, but if I do have a problem I can refer back to the penciled reminder in the ICD Tabular.  In the PCS I also pencil reminders near the procedure, for instance, when to code only for episiotomy (and not the repair) and when to also code for the repair.  Mostly, I pencil reminders from studying the text and following each example from text to code book, back and forth.  Time consuming.  But my grades have improved a lot.  Well, I do still have many questions for the instructor, too.

I am looking forward to other responses because what others say might help me improve my study skills.  

Donna G

Thanks for posting, Megan.  I am interested in what others will say.  Thanks for your tips, Donna.  I have been hesitant to write anything in the ICD, but maybe I will start.  I've been a little overwhelmed by the Coding Handbook.  I read it but wonder how I will ever remember all those details when the time comes

That's just it.  We cannot remember all those details.  We aren't expected to.  We are just expected to know how to find them and how to use them.  Thus the penciled notes from time to time in strategic places.  

Thanks for this Donna. I am in module II section 11 and for some reason nothing is sticking in my brain. It's a bit frustrating.

Everyone learns differently.  I myself don't absorb too much unless I'm actively using the information, so I definitely try to incorporate that into my studies. Get your coding books out and use them as you're reading.  Some of the reading can be pretty dry if you're not actively engaged.  As for the medical language, pharmacology, insurance, etc., I try to come out with the "big picture."  You're definitely not going to remember every detail, so I try to pick out the most important parts as I'm reading that I really want to remember.  I kind of think of it as an outline.  I definitely want to remember my main ideas but may not remember every single supporting detail.  I think the most important thing that everyone who has been around awhile will tell you is that you don't need to memorize everything.  You will use this information over and over and over again, and you always have your books available to reference if needed.  That is how you're really going to learn.

I'm really glad to see this post.  I have gotten to the point where I DREAD opening the Coding Handbook.  It's not written for a new coding student.  I seem to be doing ok so far on the simple codes we are assigned but after reading the material in the coding handbook, I honestly feel as though it would not matter if I had not read it at all.  I've given up on trying to remember the endless exceptions and guidelines it give on every listed condition.  Very frustrated.

Meghan, I completely agree with you. I am also thumbing through my coding books as I am reading the material. This is helping me to remember where to find the information that I need in the coding books. I was using the ICD-10 coding book in Module I, and I got more and more comfortable with it as I went along through Module I. Now that I am in Module II, I feel like I am starting all over again, with the CPT and HCPCS coding books. I'm sure that as I continue along in Module II, it will get easier to find what I need and I will remember more and more.

I am also learning from the errors that I make on the practice exercises. I am relooking these codes up to find out and understand what I did wrong and learn the correct way of finding these codes in the index and tabular.

The more I look up codes in the coding books, the more I learn.

Cherri, you're never going to remember all of the exceptions and guidelines on the first pass, unless you have a photographic memory! Just keep going. The more you put these into practice, the more you'll remember.

Thank you everyone! I'm glad to see that I am not alone. I am definitely not where I would like to be in this module at the moment but we all learn differently. I've been trying to find a note taking system for the coding part that works for me. The first exam took me a lot longer than expected. I have spent a lot of time on google researching some terms but I have also found quizlet has been helpful with the conventions and guidelines. I did pretty good in module I but then I felt lost in module II for a while and in module III I still feel kind of lost with the guidelines but it is something I am working on. I feel like it definitely helps when the terms are used so I can remember since the reading is pretty dry.

The Coding Handbook is a lot to take in.  When I am working on a particular problem/note, I try to find the section in the Coding Handbook that pertains, and read it a few times.  I also make notes in the margins of handbook as I read, so when I flip back I can easily see in my big handwriting, for example, "Do not Code X with X".

Something else I wish I had done more of in the earlier Modules... asked more questions of my instructors.  Maybe it was because I didn't know what to ask?  Now I am bombarding Debby with questions, trying to wrap my brain around all of the details.

A heads up, in Module IV, you will go back through the Coding Handbook - cover to cover.  That's where I am now, and it all makes a lot more sense and is sticking much better!  Repetition!

I read early on that if you have too many notes throughout your coding books that you will not be able to use them when you sit for your exams. They do look through your books before you begin testing.

Someone can correct me on that if I am wrong. 

You might be correct.  Not sure.  I don't load the page with notes; on the other hand on a couple of codes I have written too many notes that get in the way, or that I simply ignore.  I guess if I am confident enough now to ignore them, maybe I should erase them next time I come across them.  Would be interested to hear someone else's comments, especially an instructor, just in case I have to do some erasing.  

Donna g

I am only in Module I, towards the end, but I noticed halfway through that most of the info in the Coding Handbook is taken directly from the guidelines written at the beginning of each chapter.  Some of it is even written word for word.  Other info is included under the category heading with the Includes, Excludes, and Use Additional Code Information.  I've started just writing down to refer back to a specific chapter guideline when it applies instead of writing down the rule if I can.  If I can't find the info that I want to remember in either of those two places, then I will write it near the code or category heading.

Yes!  That is an excellent observation, Kristie.  The actual instructions for ICD are a part of the code set itself. If you look up towards the beginning of your book, code set tells you exactly how to use it. All those guidelines and the information around the codes themselves tell you how to use it. In fact, almost everything you need to know is already in the code set itself. 

 To supplement that with clarifications and explanations, the American Hospital Association publishes Coding Clinic.  

 Coding textbooks really have little purpose except to explain how to use the code set and the guidelines, which the code sets and guidelines have already done. They may do this with supplemental material about diseases and conditions, anatomy, or about how procedures are performed (as you will see in Module 2 with CPT).  

The Coding Handbook, which many of us call "Faye Brown" after its former, late author, is somewhat better than that.  Because it is also published by the American Hospital Association, it can include the material from Coding Clinic.  It is therefore unique among coding textbooks in that it serves as a condensed version of the most relevant material from Coding Clinic. You therefore have the benefit of that without having to sort through 10 to 20 years of publications. Many working coders purchasing new volume every year -- that is how well respected your textbook is. It isn't just something you use in school and then toss away. At my facility, we purchase new copies every year.  We use it all the time. We have Coding Clinic, as well, but Faye Brown provides a really good summary.  

 That is the explanation for why some of the information in your textbook matches the guidelines or what is already explained near the codes, and why other information does not. You end up having guidelines, other technical explanations, and, finally, supplemental anatomic and disease information. You only need to note the material that is not included in your codebook. A note to where the guideline is found is fine. If it is something that is not in the guidelines that is important for you, you can note it in your codebook. 

 Both the AAPC and AHIMA do allow notes in your codebook. However, they do not necessarily allow wholesale copying of guidelines, rules, and reference material. That is why we tell you to write lightly in pencil, with small neat handwriting , in a discreet manner. When they page through your books before an exam, you don't want massive volumes of notes to leap out at them.

Thank you for starting this discussion, Megan!

    I think we can all agree that as newbies (I'm still in Module I), reading the Coding Handbook is definitely like drinking from a firehose.  I'm looking at it as an introduction, with the understanding that I'll be coming back to it to study it in more depth later when I have more experience of the kind of coding I'm reading about.  But at least for now I have a solid general idea of the chapters and guidelines. I agree that repetition works wonders.

    Seeing as I have a tendency to read on autopilot and not really take it in, I started outlining my chapters. It makes me stop and think, "OK, now what was important about that last paragraph?". Sometimes there is a lot of relevant information, and sometimes an entire section can be condensed down to a few entries. For me at least, writing it down makes it less overwhelming and gets it in my memory. Doing the examples they give answers to and following along in the Alpha and Tabular help too-- anything to turn passive into active. I also keep reminding myself to look at the guidelines at the beginning of each chapter and sometimes with a particular coding section. I think the code itself does give a lot of guidance, if only I can remember to look for it.

   Thanks to everyone for your ideas-- I've learned so much from you!