NCCQ THEORY PAST EXAM QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
In cICD-10 c5th cEdition, cwhat ctwo cterms care cassociated cwith cthe cuse cof cfifth ccharacters cwhen ccoding cfractured cbones, cand
cof cthese cwhat cmust cbe crecorded cif cthe ctype cis cnot cindicated? c[3 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔'Open' cand c'closed' c
An cinjury cnot cindicated cas c'open' cor c'closed' cmust cbe crecorded cusing cfifth ccharacter c'0'
In crelation cto cthe cco-morbidities cstandard cin cICD-10 c5th cEdition, cwhy cwill cacute cconditions calways cbe ccoded? c- cCORRECT
cANS✔✔Acute cconditions cwill calways caffect cthe cpatient's cepisode cof ccare
Which cone cof cthe cfollowing coptions cmust can cinjury cbe cdescribed cas cto cbe cclassified cto cICD-10 c5th cEdition cChapter cXIII
cDiseases cof cthe cmusculoskeletal csystem cand cconnective ctissue?
A. cAcute, cold cor crecurrent
B. cAcute, csubacute cor crecurrent c
C. cChronic, cold cor crecurrent c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔C. cChronic, cold cor crecurrent
Codes cin ccategories cU00-U49 care creserved cby cthe cWHO cfor cprovisional cassignment cin cwhat csituations? c[2 cMarks] c-
cCORRECT cANS✔✔New cdiseases cof cuncertain caetiology cor cemergency cuse
When cis cit cpermissible cto cassign cICD-10 c5th cEdition cfourth ccharacter ccodes cfor c'multiple cinjuries' cin cChapter cXIX cInjury,
cpoisoning cand ccertain cother cconsequences cof cexternal ccauses? c[3 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Only cwhere cno cdetail cis
cdocumented cin cthe cmedical crecord cabout cthe cindividual csites cor ctypes cof cthe cinjury
Name cthe cfive ccolumns cof cthe c'neoplasm ctable' cfound cin cVolume c3 cAlphabetical cIndex cof cICD-10 c5th cEdition crelated cto
cbehaviour. c[5 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Malignant cprimary c
Malignant csecondary
In csitu c
Benign c
Uncertain cor cunknown cbehaviour
In cICD-10 c5th cEdition, cthe cdagger cand casterisk csystem cprovides ca cdual cclassification cof cdiagnostic cstatements; cwhat cdoes
ceach csymbol crepresent? c[2 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The cdagger c(†) crepresents cthe cunderlying cgeneralised cdisease
c(also creferred cto cas caetiology). cThe casterisk c(*) crepresents cthe cmanifestation cof cthat cdisease
In cICD-10 c5th cEdition, canaemia cmust cnot cbe ccoded cin cwhat cthree cneoplastic cblood cdisorders cas cit cis ca cnatural csymptom cin
cthese cconditions? c[3 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Leukaemia, cmyeloma cand cmyelodysplasia
In cICD-10 c5th cEdition, cwhat care csequelae ccodes cused cto cindicate? c[2 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔They care cused cto
cindicate cthat ca ccurrent ccondition cor cdisease chas cbeen ccaused cby ca cpreviously coccurring cdisease cor cinjury cwhich chas cbeen
ctreated cand cis cno clonger cpresent
What cpunctuation cis cused cin cboth cthe cICD-10 c5th cEdition cTabular cList cand cthe cAlphabetical cIndex cto cindicate cthere care
cfourth ccharacter csubdivisions? c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Point-dash c(.-)
In cOPCS-4, cwhat cdoes cNOC cstand cfor cand cin cwhat cchapter cis cit cused? c[2 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔NOC cstands cfor
cNot cOtherwise cClassifiable cand cis cused conly cin cthe csubsidiary cChapter cY.
Name cthe cfour cSections cof cthe cOPCS-4 cAlphabetical cIndex. c[4 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔(Alphabetical cIndex cof)
cInterventions cand cSurgical cProcedures
, (Alphabetical cIndex cof cSurgical) cEponyms c
(Alphabetical cIndex cof cSurgical) cAbbreviations c
(Alphabetical cIndex cof cCommon cSurgical) cSuffixes
When cand chow care ccodes cfrom cOPCS-4 cChapter cS cSkin cused cto cenhance ca ccode cfrom canother cbody csystem cchapter? c[3
cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The ccode cfrom cChapter cS cmust cbe cassigned: c
• cWhen cit cprovides cfurther cinformation cabout cthe cprocedure cthat cis cnot cspecified cin cthe cprimary cbody csystem ccode.
c• cIn ca csecondary cposition, cdirectly cafter cthe cbody csystem ccode cit cis cenhancing
Describe cthe cOPCS-4 cstandard cfor ccoding cexcision cand cbiopsy cprocedures. c[4 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔When can
cexcision cand cbiopsy cis cperformed con cthe csame csite cduring cthe csame ctheatre cvisit, conly cassign ca ccode(s) cfor cthe cexcision,
cas ca cbiopsy cis can cintegral cpart cof cthe cexcision
In cwhich cposition cmust ccodes cfrom cOPCS-4 cchapters cY cSubsidiary cClassification cof cMethods cof cOperation cand cZ
cSubsidiary cClassification cof cSites cof cOperation cbe csequenced? c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔They cmust conly cever cbe ccoded cin ca
csecondary cposition
In cOPCS-4, chow cshould ca c'failed cintubation' cat can cupper cgastrointestinal ctract cendoscopy cbe creflected cin cthe ccoded cclinical
crecord? c[2 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The cprocedure cmust cnot cbe ccoded cunless cthe cpoint cof cabandonment cis cbeyond
cthe cmouth
What cis cthe cmain caxis cof cclassification cwithin cOPCS-4 cand cwhat care cthe cfour clevels cof ccomplexity cassociated cwith cit? c[5
cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The cmain caxis cof cthe cclassification cis cbody csystem. cThe cfour clevels cof ccomplexity care cmajor,
cintermediate, cminor cand cnon-operative
To cmaintain cthe cstructure cof cthe cOPCS-4 cclassification, c.8 cand c.9 ccodes care cavailable cin cboth cprincipal cand cextended
ccategories, cbut cfrom cwhich cone cof cthese cis cit cacceptable cto cassign c.8 cand c.9 ccodes? c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Principal
ccategories
Describe cthe cstandard cwhen ccoding cmultiple cdeliveries c(e.g. ctwins, ctriplets) cin cOPCS-4 cChapter cR cFemale cGenital cTract
cAssociated cwith cPregnancy, cChildbirth cand cPuerperium. c[3 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Each cdifferent ctype cof cdelivery
cmust cbe crecorded cwith cthe cmost cserious cbeing csequenced cfirst. cWhere call cmethods cof cdelivery care cidentical, conly cone
ccode cis crequired
Where can cunintentional caction, csuch cas cperforation cof can corgan, coccurs cduring ca cprocedure, chow cshould cthis cbe creflected
cin cthe ccoded cclinical crecord? cThe canswer cshould creflect cboth cICD-10 c5th cEdition cand cOPCS-4. c[3 cMarks] c- cCORRECT
cANS✔✔This cunintentional caction cmust cnot cbe crecorded cusing cOPCS-4 ccodes. cAny csurgical cprocedures cperformed cto
ccorrect cthe cunintentional caction cmust cbe crecorded cusing cthe cappropriate cOPCS-4 ccode(s). cAny cassociated cdiagnosis
cresulting cfrom cthe cunintentional caction, ce.g. caccidental cperforation cof corgan, cwill cbe ccoded cusing cthe cappropriate cICD-10
ccode(s)
In cICD-10 c5th cEdition, cwhat cis cthe cprimary cdiagnosis cdefinition? c[7 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The cfirst cdiagnosis cfield(s)
cof cthe ccoded cclinical crecord c(the cprimary cdiagnosis) cwill ccontain cthe cmain ccondition ctreated cor cinvestigated cduring cthe
crelevant cepisode cof chealthcare. cWhere ca cdefinitive cdiagnosis chas cnot cbeen cmade cby cthe cresponsible cclinician cthe cmain
csymptom, cabnormal cfindings, cor cproblem cshould cbe crecorded cin cthe cfirst cdiagnosis cfield cof cthe ccoded cclinical crecord
ICD: cDescribe cthe crule cin crelation cto ccode cstructure cwhen ca cthree ccharacter ccategory cis cnot csubdivided cinto cfour ccharacter
csubdivisions, cand cwhy cthis cis cused. c[5 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The c'X' cfiller cmust cbe cassigned cin cthe cfourth ccharacter
cfield cso cthe ccodes care cof ca cstandard clength cfor cdata cprocessing cand cvalidation. cWhere ca cthree ccharacter ccode crequires
cassignment cof cboth cthe c'X' cfiller cand ca cfifth ccharacter csubdivision, cthe c'X' cfiller cmust ccontinue cto cbe crecorded cin cthe cfourth
cfield cbefore cthe cfifth ccharacter
ICD: cDescribe cthe cpurpose cof c'Use' cnotes cin cVolume c1 cTabular cList cand cwhen cthe cconvention cmust cbe capplied. c[3 cMarks]
c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The c'use' cnote cis ca cspecific cinstruction cto cuse can cadditional ccode cin corder cto cdescribe ca ccondition
cmore ccompletely. cThe c'use' cnote cis cnever coptional cand cmust calways cbe cadhered cto cwhere cthe cinformation cis cavailable cin
cthe cmedical crecord.
OPCS: cDescribe cthe cuses cof cthe c'Note' cinstruction. c[5 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔• cTo cadvise ccoders cto cinclude cor comit
cadditional cor csubsidiary ccodes. c
• cTo cdirect ccoders celsewhere cin cthe cclassification cto cmore cappropriate ccategories. c
• cTo cclarify cthe cintended cuse cof ca cparticular cchapter, ccategory cor ccode. c
• cTo cprovide cspecific cinstructions con cthe ccorrect csequencing cof ccodes cwhen cused ctogether c(paired ccodes)
OPCS: cDescribe c'paired ccodes' cand cthe cconvention cassociated cwith cthe c'paired ccodes cnote'. c[5 cMarks] c- cCORRECT
cANS✔✔Some cinterventions/procedures care cfrequently ccarried cout ctogether cbut care cclassified cat cseparate ccodes cor
ccategories. cWhere cthis cis cthe ccase, cthe ccategories cconcerned ccontain cinstructional cnotes cto cindicate cthe cassociated ccode
cand ccorrect csequencing.
The cfollowing cpaired ccodes cnotes cappear cin cthe cOPCS-4 cTabular cList: c
• c'Use ca csupplementary ccode/Use can cadditional ccode/Use ca csubsidiary ccode' c- cuse cthe ccode, cat cwhich cthis cnote cappears
cin ca cprimary cposition. c
• c'Use cas ca csupplementary ccode/Use cas can cadditional ccode/For cuse cas ca csubsidiary ccode/Use cas ca csecondary ccode' c- cuse
cthe ccode, cat cwhich cthis cnote cappears, cin ca csecondary cposition. c
Paired ccodes cmay cbe cclassified cwithin cthe csame cor ca cdifferent cbody csystem cchapter. cThey ccan cbe cused calone cwhen conly
cone cintervention c/ cprocedure cis cperformed
ANSWERS
In cICD-10 c5th cEdition, cwhat ctwo cterms care cassociated cwith cthe cuse cof cfifth ccharacters cwhen ccoding cfractured cbones, cand
cof cthese cwhat cmust cbe crecorded cif cthe ctype cis cnot cindicated? c[3 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔'Open' cand c'closed' c
An cinjury cnot cindicated cas c'open' cor c'closed' cmust cbe crecorded cusing cfifth ccharacter c'0'
In crelation cto cthe cco-morbidities cstandard cin cICD-10 c5th cEdition, cwhy cwill cacute cconditions calways cbe ccoded? c- cCORRECT
cANS✔✔Acute cconditions cwill calways caffect cthe cpatient's cepisode cof ccare
Which cone cof cthe cfollowing coptions cmust can cinjury cbe cdescribed cas cto cbe cclassified cto cICD-10 c5th cEdition cChapter cXIII
cDiseases cof cthe cmusculoskeletal csystem cand cconnective ctissue?
A. cAcute, cold cor crecurrent
B. cAcute, csubacute cor crecurrent c
C. cChronic, cold cor crecurrent c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔C. cChronic, cold cor crecurrent
Codes cin ccategories cU00-U49 care creserved cby cthe cWHO cfor cprovisional cassignment cin cwhat csituations? c[2 cMarks] c-
cCORRECT cANS✔✔New cdiseases cof cuncertain caetiology cor cemergency cuse
When cis cit cpermissible cto cassign cICD-10 c5th cEdition cfourth ccharacter ccodes cfor c'multiple cinjuries' cin cChapter cXIX cInjury,
cpoisoning cand ccertain cother cconsequences cof cexternal ccauses? c[3 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Only cwhere cno cdetail cis
cdocumented cin cthe cmedical crecord cabout cthe cindividual csites cor ctypes cof cthe cinjury
Name cthe cfive ccolumns cof cthe c'neoplasm ctable' cfound cin cVolume c3 cAlphabetical cIndex cof cICD-10 c5th cEdition crelated cto
cbehaviour. c[5 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Malignant cprimary c
Malignant csecondary
In csitu c
Benign c
Uncertain cor cunknown cbehaviour
In cICD-10 c5th cEdition, cthe cdagger cand casterisk csystem cprovides ca cdual cclassification cof cdiagnostic cstatements; cwhat cdoes
ceach csymbol crepresent? c[2 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The cdagger c(†) crepresents cthe cunderlying cgeneralised cdisease
c(also creferred cto cas caetiology). cThe casterisk c(*) crepresents cthe cmanifestation cof cthat cdisease
In cICD-10 c5th cEdition, canaemia cmust cnot cbe ccoded cin cwhat cthree cneoplastic cblood cdisorders cas cit cis ca cnatural csymptom cin
cthese cconditions? c[3 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Leukaemia, cmyeloma cand cmyelodysplasia
In cICD-10 c5th cEdition, cwhat care csequelae ccodes cused cto cindicate? c[2 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔They care cused cto
cindicate cthat ca ccurrent ccondition cor cdisease chas cbeen ccaused cby ca cpreviously coccurring cdisease cor cinjury cwhich chas cbeen
ctreated cand cis cno clonger cpresent
What cpunctuation cis cused cin cboth cthe cICD-10 c5th cEdition cTabular cList cand cthe cAlphabetical cIndex cto cindicate cthere care
cfourth ccharacter csubdivisions? c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Point-dash c(.-)
In cOPCS-4, cwhat cdoes cNOC cstand cfor cand cin cwhat cchapter cis cit cused? c[2 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔NOC cstands cfor
cNot cOtherwise cClassifiable cand cis cused conly cin cthe csubsidiary cChapter cY.
Name cthe cfour cSections cof cthe cOPCS-4 cAlphabetical cIndex. c[4 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔(Alphabetical cIndex cof)
cInterventions cand cSurgical cProcedures
, (Alphabetical cIndex cof cSurgical) cEponyms c
(Alphabetical cIndex cof cSurgical) cAbbreviations c
(Alphabetical cIndex cof cCommon cSurgical) cSuffixes
When cand chow care ccodes cfrom cOPCS-4 cChapter cS cSkin cused cto cenhance ca ccode cfrom canother cbody csystem cchapter? c[3
cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The ccode cfrom cChapter cS cmust cbe cassigned: c
• cWhen cit cprovides cfurther cinformation cabout cthe cprocedure cthat cis cnot cspecified cin cthe cprimary cbody csystem ccode.
c• cIn ca csecondary cposition, cdirectly cafter cthe cbody csystem ccode cit cis cenhancing
Describe cthe cOPCS-4 cstandard cfor ccoding cexcision cand cbiopsy cprocedures. c[4 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔When can
cexcision cand cbiopsy cis cperformed con cthe csame csite cduring cthe csame ctheatre cvisit, conly cassign ca ccode(s) cfor cthe cexcision,
cas ca cbiopsy cis can cintegral cpart cof cthe cexcision
In cwhich cposition cmust ccodes cfrom cOPCS-4 cchapters cY cSubsidiary cClassification cof cMethods cof cOperation cand cZ
cSubsidiary cClassification cof cSites cof cOperation cbe csequenced? c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔They cmust conly cever cbe ccoded cin ca
csecondary cposition
In cOPCS-4, chow cshould ca c'failed cintubation' cat can cupper cgastrointestinal ctract cendoscopy cbe creflected cin cthe ccoded cclinical
crecord? c[2 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The cprocedure cmust cnot cbe ccoded cunless cthe cpoint cof cabandonment cis cbeyond
cthe cmouth
What cis cthe cmain caxis cof cclassification cwithin cOPCS-4 cand cwhat care cthe cfour clevels cof ccomplexity cassociated cwith cit? c[5
cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The cmain caxis cof cthe cclassification cis cbody csystem. cThe cfour clevels cof ccomplexity care cmajor,
cintermediate, cminor cand cnon-operative
To cmaintain cthe cstructure cof cthe cOPCS-4 cclassification, c.8 cand c.9 ccodes care cavailable cin cboth cprincipal cand cextended
ccategories, cbut cfrom cwhich cone cof cthese cis cit cacceptable cto cassign c.8 cand c.9 ccodes? c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Principal
ccategories
Describe cthe cstandard cwhen ccoding cmultiple cdeliveries c(e.g. ctwins, ctriplets) cin cOPCS-4 cChapter cR cFemale cGenital cTract
cAssociated cwith cPregnancy, cChildbirth cand cPuerperium. c[3 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔Each cdifferent ctype cof cdelivery
cmust cbe crecorded cwith cthe cmost cserious cbeing csequenced cfirst. cWhere call cmethods cof cdelivery care cidentical, conly cone
ccode cis crequired
Where can cunintentional caction, csuch cas cperforation cof can corgan, coccurs cduring ca cprocedure, chow cshould cthis cbe creflected
cin cthe ccoded cclinical crecord? cThe canswer cshould creflect cboth cICD-10 c5th cEdition cand cOPCS-4. c[3 cMarks] c- cCORRECT
cANS✔✔This cunintentional caction cmust cnot cbe crecorded cusing cOPCS-4 ccodes. cAny csurgical cprocedures cperformed cto
ccorrect cthe cunintentional caction cmust cbe crecorded cusing cthe cappropriate cOPCS-4 ccode(s). cAny cassociated cdiagnosis
cresulting cfrom cthe cunintentional caction, ce.g. caccidental cperforation cof corgan, cwill cbe ccoded cusing cthe cappropriate cICD-10
ccode(s)
In cICD-10 c5th cEdition, cwhat cis cthe cprimary cdiagnosis cdefinition? c[7 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The cfirst cdiagnosis cfield(s)
cof cthe ccoded cclinical crecord c(the cprimary cdiagnosis) cwill ccontain cthe cmain ccondition ctreated cor cinvestigated cduring cthe
crelevant cepisode cof chealthcare. cWhere ca cdefinitive cdiagnosis chas cnot cbeen cmade cby cthe cresponsible cclinician cthe cmain
csymptom, cabnormal cfindings, cor cproblem cshould cbe crecorded cin cthe cfirst cdiagnosis cfield cof cthe ccoded cclinical crecord
ICD: cDescribe cthe crule cin crelation cto ccode cstructure cwhen ca cthree ccharacter ccategory cis cnot csubdivided cinto cfour ccharacter
csubdivisions, cand cwhy cthis cis cused. c[5 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The c'X' cfiller cmust cbe cassigned cin cthe cfourth ccharacter
cfield cso cthe ccodes care cof ca cstandard clength cfor cdata cprocessing cand cvalidation. cWhere ca cthree ccharacter ccode crequires
cassignment cof cboth cthe c'X' cfiller cand ca cfifth ccharacter csubdivision, cthe c'X' cfiller cmust ccontinue cto cbe crecorded cin cthe cfourth
cfield cbefore cthe cfifth ccharacter
ICD: cDescribe cthe cpurpose cof c'Use' cnotes cin cVolume c1 cTabular cList cand cwhen cthe cconvention cmust cbe capplied. c[3 cMarks]
c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔The c'use' cnote cis ca cspecific cinstruction cto cuse can cadditional ccode cin corder cto cdescribe ca ccondition
cmore ccompletely. cThe c'use' cnote cis cnever coptional cand cmust calways cbe cadhered cto cwhere cthe cinformation cis cavailable cin
cthe cmedical crecord.
OPCS: cDescribe cthe cuses cof cthe c'Note' cinstruction. c[5 cMarks] c- cCORRECT cANS✔✔• cTo cadvise ccoders cto cinclude cor comit
cadditional cor csubsidiary ccodes. c
• cTo cdirect ccoders celsewhere cin cthe cclassification cto cmore cappropriate ccategories. c
• cTo cclarify cthe cintended cuse cof ca cparticular cchapter, ccategory cor ccode. c
• cTo cprovide cspecific cinstructions con cthe ccorrect csequencing cof ccodes cwhen cused ctogether c(paired ccodes)
OPCS: cDescribe c'paired ccodes' cand cthe cconvention cassociated cwith cthe c'paired ccodes cnote'. c[5 cMarks] c- cCORRECT
cANS✔✔Some cinterventions/procedures care cfrequently ccarried cout ctogether cbut care cclassified cat cseparate ccodes cor
ccategories. cWhere cthis cis cthe ccase, cthe ccategories cconcerned ccontain cinstructional cnotes cto cindicate cthe cassociated ccode
cand ccorrect csequencing.
The cfollowing cpaired ccodes cnotes cappear cin cthe cOPCS-4 cTabular cList: c
• c'Use ca csupplementary ccode/Use can cadditional ccode/Use ca csubsidiary ccode' c- cuse cthe ccode, cat cwhich cthis cnote cappears
cin ca cprimary cposition. c
• c'Use cas ca csupplementary ccode/Use cas can cadditional ccode/For cuse cas ca csubsidiary ccode/Use cas ca csecondary ccode' c- cuse
cthe ccode, cat cwhich cthis cnote cappears, cin ca csecondary cposition. c
Paired ccodes cmay cbe cclassified cwithin cthe csame cor ca cdifferent cbody csystem cchapter. cThey ccan cbe cused calone cwhen conly
cone cintervention c/ cprocedure cis cperformed
