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Surgical Coding Academy

Last reviewed: June 2026

FreeCPTCodeFinder Surgical Coding Academy is a structured curriculum for medical students, residents, fellows, APPs, and attending surgeons who want to understand surgical coding instead of memorizing isolated CPT numbers.

The curriculum is organized around how coding decisions are actually made: identify the service, document the work, understand modifiers and global periods, connect diagnosis to medical necessity, and verify final decisions against official sources.

Module 1: CPT Coding Fundamentals

What CPT codes are, how Category I/II/III codes differ, how HCPCS fits, and how codes are used in surgical documentation.

Module 2: wRVUs

What work RVUs represent, how they are calculated, and how surgeons are commonly paid under RVU compensation models.

Module 3: Global Periods

0-day, 10-day, and 90-day global periods with common surgical examples and postoperative billing pitfalls.

Module 4: Modifier Education

The surgical modifiers residents and attendings actually need to understand, from modifier 22 through assistant-at-surgery modifiers.

Module 5: Documentation

Operative notes, procedure notes, consult notes, critical care documentation, and modifier documentation.

Module 6: Resident Education

Coding basics for residents and how resident operative notes affect billing, teaching, and future chart review.

Module 7: APP Education

Split/shared visits, APP documentation, global-period rules, critical care billing, and consult billing.

Related Resources

Source and Verification References

Use this page as educational coding support, then verify final coding decisions against current official and payer-specific guidance.