10 free, exam-style Certified Outpatient Coder (COC) practice questions with answers and explanations. No signup required. Work through them below, then take the full free COC practice test to study every exam domain.
The COC exam has 100 questions and runs 4 hours.
An ED patient documented as "chest pain, rule out MI" is coded with:
Correct answer: D - Chest pain code R07.9
For outpatient encounters, conditions documented as "probable," "suspected," "rule out," or similar uncertain language must NOT be coded as confirmed.
Medicare hospital outpatient clinic visits are reported using which code?
Correct answer: B - Code G0463 (single level)
Effective 1/1/2014, Medicare collapsed all outpatient hospital clinic E/M levels (formerly 99201-99215) into a single HCPCS code, G0463.
A patient is seen twice in the ED on the same date in the same revenue center for two unrelated conditions. The second ED E/M is reported with:
Correct answer: C - Modifier 27 + Condition Code G0
When a patient receives multiple E/M services in the same hospital outpatient revenue center on the same date, modifier 27 alone is NOT enough - the UB-04 must also carry Condition Code G0.
On hospital outpatient/ASC claims, when a procedure is discontinued BEFORE administration of anesthesia, the coder appends:
Correct answer: A - Modifier 73 discontinued
Hospital outpatient and ASC claims use modifiers 73 (before anesthesia, paid at 50%) and 74 (after anesthesia/start, paid at 100%) - NOT modifier 53, which is professional-side only.
When modifier 50 (bilateral) is appended to a procedure that has Status Indicator J1, the impact on reimbursement is:
Correct answer: D - Does not increase payment
Under the OPPS Comprehensive APC methodology, the J1-status primary procedure receives a single bundled payment that already accounts for typical bilateral performance.
Within a single drug administration class, which method takes priority?
Correct answer: C - Infusion ranks highest priority
Within any class (chemo, therapeutic/prophylactic, hydration), the method hierarchy is Infusion > IV push > Injection. The longest/most complex method becomes the "initial" service code.
A patient receives chemotherapy IV infusion (3 hours of one drug) and then receives 1 hour of IV hydration after the chemo completes. Which is the "initial" service?
Correct answer: C - Chemotherapy 96413 used
Despite the chemo and hydration occurring in time order, the "initial" service code is determined by HIERARCHY, not time.
After administering a single-dose vial of medication with no waste, the hospital must append which modifier per Medicare effective 10/1/2023?
Correct answer: B - Modifier JZ required here
Medicare now REQUIRES modifier JZ on every claim for a single-dose container drug when zero amount is discarded. This is the counterpart to modifier JW (drug wastage).
How long does pass-through status under OPPS typically last for an approved drug or device?
Correct answer: A - Two to three years
New drugs and devices granted pass-through status (Status Indicator G for drugs, separate device offset for devices) receive separate Medicare payment for 2-3 years before being folded into the standard APC payment.
Under HIPAA, the acronym TPO refers to permitted disclosures for:
Correct answer: C - Treatment, payment, operations
The Certified Outpatient Coder (COC) exam is organized into 10 knowledge domains. These free practice questions are drawn from across them so you can see where you're strong and where to study:
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