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CEU Information - Members

CEU Tracker

The following are AAPC's Continuing Education Unit (CEU) policies, requirements, and resources to help you locate approved AAPC CEU opportunities and tools to manage your continuing education.

CEUs Required to Maintain Credential(s)

Number of Certifications: See below for specific credential requirements:
One Certification: 36 CEUs every two years
Two Certifications: 40 CEUs every two years
Three Certifications: 44 CEUs every two years
Four Certifications: 48 CEUs every two years
Five or More Certifications: 52 CEUs every two years

Specific Credential Requirements:

  • If CIRCC, 16 must be related to interventional radiology or cardiovascular coding*
  • If CPMA, 16 must be related to auditing
  • If CPCO, 16 must be related to compliance
  • If CDEO, 16 must be related to documentation
  • If CPPM®, 16 must be related to practice management
  • 8 must be specialty specific for each specialty earned

*We have contracted with only three companies that may provide training that will qualify for the 8 specific CEUs required each year (or 16 CEUs per renewal period) to maintain the CIRCC credential. These companies are ZHealth Publishing, MedLearn Publishing, and Medical Asset Management. Although other pre-approved vendors may provide interventional radiology training, the CIRCC CEU requirement must come from one of the above-mentioned companies.

Note: Events must be specifically pre-approved for CIRCC, CPMA, CPCO, CDEO, CPPM, and all specialty credentials, based on relevance and level of difficulty, in order to be eligible for CEUs. Click here for more details

Once CIRCC, CPMA, CPCO, CDEO, CPPM® and specialty CEUs have been met, the remaining credits due can be obtained from any pre-approved program.

If CEUs have been pro-rated due to a corporate membership addition, this may exceed the cap of 52 CEUs every two years.

Pay membership every year and submit your CEUs online via the CEU Tracker every other year.

CEUs are reported every two years on or before your membership due date. You must pay your dues every year, even on a year when you are not required to report CEUs. The year that your CEUs are due is based on the month of your membership*:

If your membership is due in the months below, two years of CEUs are due on your membership expiration date in 2025

  • January
  • March
  • May
  • July
  • September
  • November

If your membership is due in the months below, two years of CEUs are due on your membership expiration date in 2024

  • February
  • April
  • June
  • August
  • October
  • December
*If you are newly certified, CEUs will likely be pro-rated to match your existing renewal month for your first submission. CEUs earned prior to certification will not be accepted.
  • CEUs must come from the AAPC Approved CEU Vendor List.
  • CEU programs are limited to one-time use
  • CEUs must be earned and submitted within your two-year renewal period*. Excess CEUs do not carry over to the next renewal period.
  • CEUs earned within your renewal month can apply to either the current submission or the next
  • CEUs are counted based on the date of completion.
  • Please note that AAPC will charge a $50 fee for CEU extensions. To avoid this fee, please stay current on your CEUs and submit them on time. If a CEU extension is needed at the end of your renewal period, please purchase directly from your CEU Tracker.
  • Twenty-five percent of all CEU submissions will continue to be randomly selected for verification. Members should upload their CEU certificates into their tracker.
    • Please note that all certificates of approval must contain the index number (pre-approved by AAPC), name of sponsoring organization, title of program attended, number of CEUs approved, and date of program.
  • CEUs earned prior to certification will not be accepted.
*If you are newly certified or if you have been added to a corporate membership, your renewal period may differ from the standard two years.

CEUs must be comprised primarily of core educational content (Curriculum A) to show competency. Curriculum A is something that AAPC credentialed members do at the core of their day-to-day practice. As such, APPROVED Curriculum A CEUs must comprise no less than 66% (2/3) of the total CEUs earned per CEU period.

Related educational content (Curriculum B), includes professional self-improvement and topics not core to a member's certification. As a result, APPROVED Curriculum B can comprise no more than 33% (1/3) of the total CEUs earned per CEU period. For example, if one core credential is held, 12 of the 36 total CEUs due every two years may be from Curriculum B.

Coding/Billing

  • CPT
  • ICD-9-CM (Vol. 1-3)
  • ICD-10
  • HCPCS
  • Coding & Billing Policy & Procedure

Clinical

  • Anatomy
  • Physiology
  • Medical Terminology
  • Pharmacy
  • Pathophysiology

Compliance

  • Compliance Auditing
  • Compliance Planning
  • Self Reporting
  • Compliance Training

Regulatory

  • Medicare Regulations
  • Medicaid Regulations
  • OIG Work Plan
  • MS Transmittals
  • Teaching Regulations
  • NCDs/LCDs

Data/Claims

  • Data Management
  • A/R Management
  • Appeals
  • Revenue Cycle

Insurer

  • Payer Contract Negotiations

Professional Self Improvement

  • Communication Skills
  • Management Skills
  • Time Management
  • Stress Management
  • Employee Issues
  • OSHA
  • Workers Compensation Benefits
  • JCAHO

Noted Exception: As the topics under Curriculum B are core responsibilities of a practice management, these limitations are not enforced for the CPPM certification.

Apply for Curriculum B CEUs. Approval for CEUs submitted by members is only for professional self-improvement (Curriculum B) CEUs. Submit your application as early as possible (pre-event approval is preferred). If submitting an application for a past event, you must also submit proof of attendance. We will not approve events that have taken place more than six months ago. Applications may take up to four (4) weeks to process.

CEUs must come from the AAPC Approved CEU Vendor List. There are only a few exceptions*:

  • CEUs for CMS-sponsored webinars and workshops are accepted by AAPC at a rate of one CEU per hour. These CEUs may come from CMS national or MAC offices. A certificate of attendance or completion with the CMS logo is necessary to show participation.
  • If you have attended or are planning to attend one of CMS' National Provider Conference Calls, you should be aware that CMS does not provide certificates of attendance for these calls. Instead, AAPC will accept your emailed confirmation as proof of participation. Please note that past calls that were not pre-registered will not be accepted.
  • CEUs are accepted from programs sponsored by AHIMA national offices and the state or regional AHIMA branches. One hour of instruction is worth one CEU. We also honor CEUs from AHIMA for online self assessments. A certificate of attendance or completion is necessary to show participation.
  • AAPC does not accept CEUs from other entities that offer "AHIMA approved" CEUs. These organizations must apply separately for AAPC CEUs and receive an AAPC index number and CEU value. For example: ABC Company sponsors a coding event and applies for CEUs through AHIMA. This event would also need AAPC approval in order to qualify for AAPC CEUs.
  • AAPC will honor 1.0-for-1.0 CEUs for any event offering CME credit or AMA PRA Category 1 credit. A certificate of attendance or completion listing the total CMEs possible for the offering is necessary to show participation. Physicians are advised to claim only the actual hours that they were present during the education. We ask that AAPC-certified members abide by this request also. One hour of instruction is worth one CEU.
  • If a student currently holds an AAPC certification, AAPC will accept time spent in post-secondary education programs. This includes diploma and degree-granting programs with courses that relate to health care, health care business, health care finance and health care management.
  • Each CEU is earned based on transcripts showing the "clock hours" or "credit hours." Clock hour CEUs are earned at the rate of 1 CEU per clock hour and should be no less than 80 hours. Credit hours are earned at a rate of 10 CEUs per credit hour. In either case, the maximum number of CEUs that can be earned in this manner is 40 hours per year.
*If completed education doesn’t fit into one of these categories, CEUs will not be accepted.

AAPC offers 1.0 CEU for completing the test in each AAPC the Magazine for a total of 12 CEUs per year.

Authorship CEUs

  • CEUs are offered to people who are not employed/contracted with the publication (AAPC the Magazine) and who are not being paid for the work performed
  • CEUs are awarded to authors of articles published in the AAPC the Magazine, regardless of general/specialty orientation

Our membership relies on authors of the AAPC the Magazine to be the most knowledgeable coders in their profession.

  • To be considered as an author for AAPC the Magazine, submit the entire article, proofed and ready for publication, to AAPC
  • Authors will be notified via email whether or not their articles are selected for publication
  • Authors will be notified in which AAPC the Magazine issues their articles will be published
  • Authors will receive a CEU certificate after the article is published

CEUs will be awarded according to a word count of the final polished article. Word count increments are as follows:

  • 500 - 999 words = 0.5 CEU
  • 1000 - 1999 words = 1 CEU
  • 2000 words plus = 1.5 CEUs

No more than 1.5 CEUs can be awarded for a single article. Word count considers only your own curriculum, not links to source documents that can be accessed from the article.

  • CEUs are awarded in 0.5 increments
  • An article awarded 1.5 CEUs can be split equally between 3 authors
  • An article earning 1 CEU can be split equally between 2 authors

NOTE: What will make your article stand out from the rest?

  • Pick a topic in which you have expertise, appropriate specialties will be assigned to the education
  • Narrow the topic so that you can cover it well in the space allowed. For example, instead of writing about "Coding Obstetrics" consider narrowing down the topic to "Ultrasound and Medical Necessity in Pregnancy." That way, you can cover it thoroughly
  • Remember our readers live across the country. Refrain from focusing on local coverage issues or concerns
  • Read your AAPC the Magazine regularly so you know what’s already been covered and can get a feel for what sort of topics are selected.
  • Keep your sentences short and use your spellcheck. Have a coworker review your work for clinical accuracy
  • Cite your sources and quote experts in the field in your article to give it a professional edge

It is required that all certified members complete their own education to stay up to date on industry changes.

The below list contains examples of CEUs that should not be shared:

  • Index numbers should not be shared, under any circumstances – contact AAPC or the vendor directly for issues with index numbers
  • Certificates of completion of any kind
  • Answers to quizzes, including but not limited to:
    • - AAPC the Magazine
    • - Webinar post-tests
  • Links to outdated AAPC the Magazine quizzes (formerly Coding Edge or Cutting Edge
    • - Quizzes are only available for 12 months from publish date, afterwards they are considered too old
  • Local chapter officer quizzes – Exclusive to chapter officers only
  • Links to any AAPC education that is limited to the purchaser, including but not limited to:
    • - Webinars
    • - Workshops
    • - HEALTHCON sessions
  • Outdated free quarterly webinars
    • - Once they’ve been removed from the website, they are no longer eligible for CEUs
  • Non-AAPC education that is limited to the purchaser

As outlined in the Code of Ethics, Integrity is a key element of what every profession considers appropriate ethical behavior. AAPC reserves the right to submit member accounts to the Ethics Committee if we feel false CEUs are being submitted. The end result may include revocation of credentials and membership.

Twenty-five percent of all CEU submissions will continue to be randomly selected for verification. Members should upload their CEU certificates into their tracker.

Verification Requirements

  • Please note that all certificates of approval must contain the index number (pre-approved by AAPC), name of sponsoring organization, title of program attended, number of CEUs approved, and date of program.
  • Members are not notified of verification until it is performed. An email will be sent afterwards with approval or details on what else is needed.
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