AHIMA CCA Certification Sample Questions

The AHIMA Certified Coding Associate Certification Sample Question Set on this page is designed to familiarize you with the actual AHIMA CCA exam format and question types. These sample questions help you understand how questions are structured and what to expect on test day. While they provide a useful starting point, they represent only a limited preview of the real exam experience.

These sample questions are intended for evaluation and familiarization only. To understand exam style, pacing, and reasoning patterns more clearly, we recommend trying our online sample practice environment. If you are preparing for the AHIMA Certified Coding Associate (CCA) and want to assess your readiness more rigorously, structured, timed, scenario-based practice is recommended. This approach aligns with the cognitive demands and professional expectations typically associated with Entry-level medical coders, Health information technicians, Coding and billing professionals working in settings such as Hospitals, Physician offices, Healthcare organizations and related settings.

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The demo introduces core concepts, while full-length premium simulations provide deeper, scenario-based coverage that more closely reflects the actual cognitive demands of the AHIMA Certified Coding Associate exam, particularly in areas such as ICD coding, CPT coding, Health record documentation review. You can use these sample questions as a starting point, then progress to the AHIMA CCA Certification Practice Exam for stronger readiness. Our premium simulations are designed to mirror real exam conditions, helping you refine reasoning, pacing, and decision-making before your official exam attempt.

AHIMA CCA Sample Questions:

01. A Medicare patient is discharged after an inpatient stay. When the discharge order was entered, the registration (ADT) system recorded the discharge status as "home or self-care." The discharge summary and the case manager's final note both document a transfer to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation. The abstracting screen pre-fills the discharge disposition from registration. Which action should the coder take before the case is finalized?
a) Add an aftercare code to show the planned rehabilitation
b) Correct the disposition to a skilled nursing facility through the facility's correction process
c) Finalize the codes and let the business office fix the status if the claim is rejected
d) Leave the pre-filled value supplied by the registration system

02. A Medicare Advantage patient's chronic condition that maps to an HCC was reported from an office visit last calendar year. At this year's only visit, a face-to-face appointment with the patient's physician, the note lists the condition under past medical history. The assessment and plan address only an ankle sprain. What should the risk adjustment coder conclude about the chronic condition for this year?
a) It is supported, because history entries count for a condition that is lifelong
b) It carries forward from last year's claim, as chronic conditions stay in the risk score
c) It is captured by the face-to-face ankle sprain visit with the physician
d) It is not supported this year, as the note shows no management of it

03. While coding a clinic visit, a coder finds that the Tabular List entry for the patient's first condition carries an Excludes1 note naming the patient's second condition. The provider's note explains that the second condition arose from a separate cause and is unrelated to the first. How should the two conditions be reported?
a) Report both conditions, since the Excludes1 exception applies to unrelated conditions
b) Report the first condition alone, as its Excludes1 note keeps the codes from appearing together
c) Ask the provider to choose one condition, since an Excludes1 note permits a single code
d) Report one unspecified code from the same category to cover both conditions

04. The quarterly CDI query report shows 120 queries issued to physicians. Physicians responded to 102 of them. In 78 responses the physician documented or clarified a condition, and in the other 24 the physician stated that no further condition was present. The CDI program defines agreement rate as the share of answered queries in which the physician documented or clarified a condition. Which pair of figures correctly states the query response rate and the agreement rate?
a) Response rate 65%; agreement rate 85%
b) Response rate 85%; agreement rate 65%
c) Response rate 85%; agreement rate 76.5%
d) Response rate 85%; agreement rate 23.5%

05. A health system is configuring the master patient index (MPI) for a new enterprise EHR. The project team must decide which data elements every MPI entry carries and which remain only in the patient's health record. Which pair of data elements belongs in each MPI entry?
a) Admission vital signs and body weight
b) Date of birth and medical record number
c) Principal diagnosis and procedure codes
d) Current allergies and active medications

06. Which of the following is an example of a physical safeguard under the HIPAA Security Rule?
a) Training employees on how to recognize phishing emails.
b) Encrypting all outgoing emails that contain PHI.
c) Requiring a badge or key to enter the server room.
d) Signing a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with a vendor.

07. A patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic polyneuropathy tells the physician that she has been taking her prescribed oral diabetes medication only every other day because she cannot afford the refills. The physician documents this underdosing and its reason. In addition to the diabetes and underdosing codes, which Z code identifies the patient's noncompliance?
a) Z91.120 (Patient's intentional underdosing of medication regimen due to financial hardship)
b) Z59.6 (Low income)
c) Z71.9 (Counseling, unspecified)
d) Z91.128 (Patient's intentional underdosing of medication regimen for other reason)

08. A records-destruction vendor shreds a batch of paper charts that have passed their retention period. The vendor gives the HIM department a certificate of destruction listing the dates of destruction, the method used, the records destroyed and the signatures of the people who witnessed it. How long should the hospital keep this certificate?
a) Until the vendor's invoice for the shredding is paid
b) Until the next accreditation survey has been completed
c) For the same period the destroyed charts were kept
d) Permanently, as lasting proof of the destruction

09. In a physician's office, a patient receives 45 minutes of IV hydration therapy for dehydration. No other infusion or injection is given. According to CPT guidelines, can the hydration be reported, and if so, how?
a) Yes, using code 96361.
b) Yes, using code 96360.
c) No, hydration is included in the office visit and is not separately reportable.
d) No, hydration must be more than 60 minutes to be reported.

10. The process of obtaining approval from a health plan before a specific service is rendered is known as:
a) Pre-certification (or Pre-authorization)
b) Remittance
c) Adjudication
d) Retrospective Review

Answers:

For full-length, timed, scenario-based practice aligned with the official exam framework - and to build pacing, consistency, and confidence - explore our Premium AHIMA CCA Certification Practice Exam.

Note: These sample questions are not official exam questions and are intended only for familiarization and study purposes. If you find any typos or data entry errors in these AHIMA Certified Coding Associate (CCA) sample questions, please let us know by emailing us at feedback@medicoexam.com