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National Clinical Coding Qualification (UK)

The National Clinical Coding Qualification (UK) is the only nationally recognised qualification for clinical coders working in the NHS. It is a national standard qualification that values their unique skills and knowledge.

The qualification was established by NHS Connecting for Health in partnership with the governing body for the exam which administers all aspects of the process, the Institute for Health Record and Information Management (IHRIM). It was also developed in collaboration with the NHS in Scotland, NHS Cymru, and the Health and Social Services Executive (Northern Ireland).

IHRIM are the awarding body and oversee the only recognised National Clinical Coding Qualification (UK) which gives career clinical coders a recognised qualification.

The national clinical coding qualification

The breadth of coding skills and knowledge covered by the examination are derived from the framework of the clinical coder curriculum in the UK. It is recommended that candidates applying to sit the examination fulfill the fundamental examination criteria as a minimum as set out below:

  • Have as a minimum one year, typically two years experience of clinical coding
  • Have attended a Clinical Coding Foundation Course
  • Have attended a Clinical Coding Refresher Course
  • Have attended a National Clinical Coding Qualification Revision Workshop
  • Covered all specialties based on current national  coding standards as the exam tests on all aspects of national clincial coding standards and not on policies unique to their local organisations.

The purpose of the examination is for a clinical coder to be able to demonstrate that his or her clinical coding skills are adequate to merit being awarded the National Clinical Coding Qualification (UK) based on national standards. As such the candidate must realise that their local trust policies are not relevant in an examination and may not correctly answer the question.

The NCCQ (UK) is delivered in partnership with the awarding and adminstrative body for the qualification the  Institute of Health Record Information and Management (IHRIM) - a professional body for all NHS staff working in health records.

The NHS Classifications Service develops the examination paper to current national clinical coding standards. All administration of the qualification such as examination location, logistics, entries and so on is provided by IHRIM. Candidates who pass both examination papers are awarded Accredited Clinical Coder (ACC) status by IHRIM.

Why take the exam?

Clinical coders are vital members of the Multi Disciplinary Team working with a number of other health care professionals (such as Doctors, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and others) all providing seamless care provision for patients.

The coder's focus is to take the patient source documentation provided by the healthcare teams to provide accurate, consistent and coded clinical data.

Passing this exam gives increased status to the clinical coder. This continuous professional development is proving increasingly popular with clinical coding professionals as a career choice as coding becomes increasingly significant within the NHS hierarchy.

Studying for the exam to become an Accredited Clinical Coder brings many benefits:

  • Accredited Clinical Coder status gives organisations confidence in their data quality output as their coders have been assessed against recognised national levels and standards;
  • Assists in the recruitment and on-going assessment of clinical coding staff;
  • Begins career progression for the individual leading to further qualifications for the career coder e.g. Clinical Coding Auditor, Clinical Coding Trainer;
  • The exam and qualification gives recognition to the clinical coding profession as a whole;
  • Providing a recognised benchmark for comparing across the profession
  • Supports Trust attainment of Requirement 510, Level 2 within Information Governance.

When coders working in the NHS have reached an appropriate level in their practical work taking the exam helps support them by recognising their competence, improves the production of high quality coded clinical data with increased training focusing on the exam, and provides a means for further professional development.

Accredited Clinical Coders are encouraged to acquire continuing educational credits to support their certification. This can be achieved by attendance at training courses, seminars and conferences, approved by NHS Connecting for Health and IHRIM as the awarding body for the qualification.

More information about the National Clinical Coding Qualification (UK)

Candidates sitting the National Clinical Coding Examination from September 2012 need to be aware of the following:

  • When assigning a code from ICD-10 Chapter XIII Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue in cases where the fourth character code is already site specific and the addition of a fifth character will not add further specific information about the site, the fifth character is not required. However for candidates sitting the National Clinical Coding Examination assignment of the 5th character ‘9’ is a mandatory requirement.  Adding the ‘9’ confirms that the examination candidate has read the ICD-10 relevant site of involvement instruction note and that the additional information about the site has not been specified by the clinician.
  • Pages II-2 and II-13 of the National Clinical Coding Standards ICD-10 4th Edition reference book state that morphology codes do not apply to lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissues neoplasms (C81-C96 and D45-D47). However following further information provided by WHO we can confirm that Morphology codes have been removed from the index trails for these conditions in the ICD-10 4th Edition Alphabetical Index.  However the morphology codes for these neoplasms are available within the Morphology of neoplasms tables on pages 1027 to 1050 of the ICD-10 4th Edition Tabular List; Morphology codes M959-M998, if required for local use. Coders are advised to make a note to this effect on pages II-2 and II-13 of the National Clinical Coding Standards ICD-10 4th Edition reference book.

For more about the qualification, choose from the links below.