2026 CCS Exam Study Guide: Certified Coding Specialist Practice Questions & Answers

2026/2027 CCS EXAM | CERTIFIED CODING SPECIALIST n n n n n n n



EXAM | |LATEST VERSIONS AND PRACTICE QUESTION
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S AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS with rationales | A
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LREADY GRADED A+ n n




n A 55-year-
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old client has hypertensive heart disease with congestive heart failure. Whatcode woul
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d be assigned?
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a. I15.8,nOthernsecondarynhypertension
b. I11.0,nHypertensivenheartndiseasenwithnheartnfailurenandnI50.9,nHeartnfailu

re,unspecified
n



c. I50.9,nHeartnfailure,nunspecifiednandnI15.0,nRenovascularnhypertension
d. N18.6,nEndnstagenrenalndiseasen

RIGHT ANS :- n n



>> b. I11.0, Hypertensive heart diseasewith heart failure and I50.9, Heart failu
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re, unspecified n




Rationale :- n



>> There is a cause and effect relationship established between the hypertension and
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the congestive heart failure. A separate code for the congestive heart failure is assign
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edbased on the "code also" note (HHS 2017, Section I.C.9.a., 40).
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A surgeon would like to undertake a research study on his clients with stage II malign
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ant melanoma of the back, who have undergone wide excision of the melanoma.What
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n work processes and associated software could be used to provide this information?
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a. Obtainnansummarynofnthencasesnfromnthencancernregistry,nimportnthemnint

o aspreadsheet, and provide to the surgeon.
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b. Obtainnansummarynofnthencasesnfromnthenchartncompletionnsoftware,nimportnthemni

ntoa spreadsheet, and provide to the surgeon.
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,c. Obtainnansummarynofnthencasesnfromnthenmasternclientnindex,nimportnthemninton

aspreadsheet, and provide to the surgeon.
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d. Obtainnansummarynofnthencasesnfromnthentranscriptionntrackingnsoftware,nimportnth

em into a spreadsheet, and provide to the surgeon.
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RIGHT ANS:- n



>> a. Obtain a summary ofthe cases from the cancer registry, import them into
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a spreadsheet, and provide to the surgeon.
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Rationale:-
>>The cancer registry can be used to undertake studies in addition to reporting cases t
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oa central registry (Sharp and Madlock-Brown 2016, 173).
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A facility located near a national park has a significant number of snake bites, and cl
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ients receive treatment with antivenom in urgent-
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care settings. Sometimes a clientis admitted to the hospital after several days. Can th
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e urgent-
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care setting provide the hospital with a list of names of clients treated with snake ant
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ivenom?

a. Onlynthennamesnofnclientsnwhonarenadmittedntonthenhospitalncannbenrequestednifnthenp

hysician needs it for continuity of care, but an entire list of clients cannot be provided
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.
b. Anlistnofnnamesncouldnbenprovided.
c. Noninformationncannbenobtainednundernanyncircumstances.
d. Anlistnofnclientsnmaynbenavailablenafternconsultationnwithnthennationalnparknranger

.
n




RIGHT ANS :- n n



>> a. Only the names of clients who are admitted to the hospital can berequested if t
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,he physician needs it for continuity of care, but an entire list of clients cannot be pr
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ovided.



Rationale:-
>>Only records that are required for care or authorized by the client can be released b
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ythe urgent-care facility to the acute-care facility (Brodnik 2012, 225; Rinehart-
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Thompson2016b, 243-247). n n




What diagnoses and procedures should be reported for recurrent left inguinal hernia
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with laparoscopic repair?
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K40.30 Unilateral inguinal hernia, with obstruction, without gangrene, not specified a
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srecurrent
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K40.31 Unilateral inguinal hernia, with obstruction, without gangrene, recurrent
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K40.91 Unilateral inguinal hernia, without mention of obstruction or gangrene, recurr
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ent49520 Repair recurrent inguinal hernia, any age; reducible
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49521 Repair recurrent inguinal hernia, any age; incarcerated or strangulated49
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651 Laparoscopy, surgical; repair recurrent inguinal hernia
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a. K40.91, 49520
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b. K40.31, 49521
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c. K40.91, 49651
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d. K40.30, 49520
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RIGHT ANS:- n



>> c. K40.91:Unilateral inguinal hernia, without mentionof obstruction or gangrene,
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recurrent 49651:Laparoscopy, surgical; repair recurrent inguinal hernia
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Rationale:-
>>The client has a recurrent hernia without obstruction and this is captured in diagnosi
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scode K40.91 (Leon-Chisen 2017, 253; CPT Assistant Nov. 1999, 24; March 2000, 9).
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, .In order to accurately code a cardiac catheterization, what needs to be determinedbas
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ed on a review of the documentation?
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a. Thenapproachnandnthensidenofnthenheartn(chambers)nintonwhichnthencatheternwa

sinserted
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b. Thenapproach,nthensidenofnthenheartn(chambers)nintonwhichnthencatheternwasninserte

d,as well as any additional procedures performed
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c. Thendurationnofnthenprocedure
d. Ifntherenisndocumentationnofnthenprocedureninnthenmedicalnrecordnthatnstentsnar

e considered
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RIGHT ANS:- n



>> b. The approach, the side of the heart (chambers) intowhich the catheter was
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inserted, as well as any additional procedures performed
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A condition is present on admission when:
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a. Itnisnthenprincipalndiagnosis
b. Itnisnaccordancenwithnmedicalnstaffnbylaws
c. Anconditionnthatnoccursnpriorntonanninclientnadmission
d. Itnisnpresentnwithinn3ndaysnafternadmissionn

RIGHT ANS:->> c. A condition that occursprior to an inclient admission
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Rationale :- n



>>It is important to understand the time frame for assigning a status code specifying t
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hata condition is present on admission (Leon-Chisen 2017, 571-574).
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Diagnostic-
related groups (DRGs) and ambulatory client classifications (APCs) aresimilar in that
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they are both: n n



a. DeterminednbynHCPCSncodes