CPC Exam Prep — 2026 Edition

Your brain knows it.
The exam proves it.
R3 bridges the gap.

You studied. You highlighted. You watched every lecture. And still blanked on exam day. That is not a knowledge problem —it is a retrieval problem.R3 trains your brain to produce the right answer under pressure. Not just recognize it on a page.

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No credit card required. No commitment. Cancel anytime.

<34%Retained from passive study
after 24 hours

80%+Retained with active
recall training

40%Less study time with
spaced repetition

$838Less than AAPC's
non-member bundle

254 CPC Practice Questions·20 Clinical Case Studies·$369 One-Time vs AAPC's $799+ Bundle·144-Second Timed Simulation·AI Spaced Repetition·7-Day Free Trial · No Credit Card·All 17 CPC Domains Covered·Active Recall Brain Training·Domain Memory Scoring·$19/mo Professional Plan · 100 Practice Questions·254 CPC Practice Questions·20 Clinical Case Studies·$369 One-Time vs AAPC's $799+ Bundle·144-Second Timed Simulation·AI Spaced Repetition·7-Day Free Trial · No Credit Card·All 17 CPC Domains Covered·Active Recall Brain Training·Domain Memory Scoring·$19/mo Professional Plan · 100 Practice Questions·

The Real Problem

The CPC Has a 40–50% First-Time Fail Rate.
Here Is Exactly Why.

It is not content knowledge. Every candidate who walks in to fail has studied. The research tells a different story about what preparation actually requires.

<34%

Retained after 24 hours

When students re-read notes, highlight, and watch lectures — the brain holds less than a third of that material after one day. This is the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve, confirmed through 2026 research. Passive study builds the feeling of readiness. Not readiness itself.

144s

Per question on the CPC

The CPC gives you exactly 2.4 minutes per question with three codebooks open on the desk. Every candidate who practiced without a clock built the wrong brain. Speed is not a personality trait. It is a trained skill. Most prep programs never train it.

30–40%

Working memory lost to cortisol

When exam stress fires, cortisol restricts blood flow to the prefrontal cortex — the region that handles reasoning, recall, and code sequencing. Candidates who never practiced under pressure have no stress-resistant retrieval pathway to fall back on. R3 builds that pathway.

The Science

Two Types of Memory.
Only One Passes the CPC.

Every study guide ever printed teaches recognition. The CPC tests recall. Most candidates spend months training the wrong skill — and don't discover it until exam day.

👁️

RECOGNITION

✗Seeing the code and thinking "I know that one"

✗Re-reading AAPC guidelines with the answer visible

✗Reviewing practice questions after the timer is off

✗What every static study guide builds

✗Feels like being prepared. Is not being prepared.

📉

Retention after 24 hours: less than 34%
Source: Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve, 1885 — confirmed in every subsequent replication through 2026

🧠

RECALL

✓Generating the correct code from nothing — no hints

✓Producing the answer under a 144-second clock

✓What the actual CPC exam demands every question

✓What R3 trains in every single session

✓The skill that separates passing from failing

📈

Retention with active recall: over 80%
Source: Karpicke & Blunt (2011) Science; 2024 Cognitive Science study — 500 students tracked across one full semester

254

CPC Practice Questions
all 17 domains

Clinical Case Studies
exact CPC vignette format

144s

Per question timed mode
exact CPC exam pace

$369

Full CPC Prep Pack
vs AAPC's $799–$1,207

7 Days

Free trial
no credit card required

Pricing

AAPC Charges $799 for Their Bundle.
We Charge $19 a Month. Or $369 Once.

Three tiers. Every candidate covered. No annual membership required just to access your own study materials.

Pro Plan

per month · cancel anytime

✦Active recall flashcards — all domains
✦AI spaced repetition scheduling
✦Domain memory scoring
✦Neural Fatigue Detection
✦AI Tutor access
✦7-day free trial included

20 Clinical Case Studies.
AAPC Offers Zero.

The CPC exam includes 10 case study questions. Most prep programs give you no practice with that format. R3 gives you 20 — each with full clinical vignettes, 4-choice questions, and complete explanations of why every answer is right or wrong.

CS-01

The Diabetic Patient With New Chest Pain

E/M — Medical Decision Making

Medium

CS-02

Skin Lesion Excision With Laceration Repair

Surgery — Integumentary System

Medium

CS-03

Closed Fracture Treatment With Manipulation

Surgery — Musculoskeletal

Hard

CS-04

Colonoscopy With Polyp Removal

Surgery — Digestive / Endoscopy

Medium

CS-05

Cardiac Catheterization With Coronary Angiography

Surgery — Cardiovascular

Hard

CS-06

Anesthesia for Total Knee Arthroplasty

Anesthesia — Physical Status + Time

Hard

CS-07

CT Scan Interpretation + Contrast Coding

Radiology — CT Imaging

Medium

CS-08

Surgical Pathology + Laboratory Panel

Pathology & Laboratory

Medium

CS-09

The Modifier Decision — -25, -57, -59

Modifiers — Three Scenarios

Hard

CS-10

Global Obstetric Package + Postpartum

OB/GYN — Global OB Package

Medium

CS-11 – CS-20

Plus 10 More Cases

ICD-10 Sequencing · HCPCS · NCCI Compliance · Multi-System Integration · ENT · Ophthalmology · Ortho · Medicine

Hard

Head to Head

R3 vs. The Rest.
No Membership. No Rhetoric. Just the Table.

Feature	Typical CPC Prep ($799–$1,207)	R3 ($19/mo or $369 one-time)
254 CPC practice questions	Not in standard bundle	✓ Included in $369 CPC Pack	R3 Wins
20 clinical case studies	✗ Not offered	✓ Full vignettes — all 20 cases	R3 Wins
Active recall training	✗ Passive reading model	✓ Core of every session	R3 Wins
Timed at 144 sec/question	✗ Static, untimed practice	✓ Exact CPC exam pace	R3 Wins
Spaced repetition scheduling	✗ Not offered	✓ AI-driven — automatic	R3 Wins
Domain memory scoring	✗ Not offered	✓ Shows exact weak domains	R3 Wins
Why wrong answers fail	Basic rationale only	✓ Every distractor explained	R3 Wins
Multi-code sequencing explanation	✗ Not offered	✓ Built into every multi-code answer	R3 Wins
Annual membership required	✗ $229/year mandatory	✓ Never required	R3 Wins
Free trial	✗ None	✓ 7 days — no credit card	R3 Wins
One-time purchase option	✗ Buy again every year	✓ $369 — lifetime access	R3 Wins
Cortisol / pressure state training	✗ Not addressed	✓ Pressure Mode built in	R3 Wins

Platform Features

Every Feature Built on Brain Science.
Not Guesswork.

🧠

Neural Fatigue Detection

Cognitive Overload Tracking

When your brain's sponge is full, R3 knows before you do. It tracks response speed and error patterns to detect when studying stops converting — and tells you to rest before you waste study time on a saturated brain.

⚡

Pressure Mode Training

Distractor + Countdown Stress

R3 puts a clock on your practice and adds answer choices designed to look almost right. Your brain learns to perform under cortisol before exam day arrives. Speed is not a personality trait — it is a trained skill.

🎙️

Voice Active Recall

AI Fluency + Confidence Scoring

Say the answer out loud. R3 listens, measures fluency, and scores your confidence. If you can explain it without hesitation, you own it. If you stumble, the spaced repetition queue catches it.

🗺️

Memory Heat Maps

Weak Zone Visualization

A visual map of every domain showing exactly where your memory is strong and where it is slipping. Stop studying what you already know. Start targeting what the exam will find.

❤️

Emotional Anchoring

Emotion-Driven Encoding

Your brain holds onto memories connected to emotion far longer than facts read in plain text. R3 links difficult coding concepts to stories and feelings — so the rule sticks under pressure.

📉

Forgetting Curve AI

Decay Forecasting

R3 predicts exactly when you are about to forget a concept and returns it just before it disappears. Like catching a sand castle before the tide. You never re-learn what you already earned.

Larry O. Dickerson

Coach Larry · Founder, R3

FatherGrandfatherDegree in PsychologyMemphis, Tennessee

Why R3 Exists

I watched too many brilliant people fail exams they deserved to pass. Not because they didn't study. Because nobody ever taught them how their brain actually learns.

When someone I cared about began preparing for her CPC exam, I sat with one question for six months: why do intelligent, hardworking students fail high-stakes retrieval exams?

The answer is not effort. It is method. Every study guide on the market trains recognition — the feeling of knowing. The CPC tests recall — the ability to produce. Those are different brain skills, and passive reading builds the wrong one.

R3 was built to close that gap. Not with more content. With better brain training. At a price that does not require you to take out a loan to prepare for a certification exam.

At Read Remember and Recall — we don't just help you study. We train your brain to remember when it matters most. Let's Get Every Student Prepared.

Ready to Pass

Your Brain Already Has
What It Takes.
R3 Trains It to Show It.

Seven days. Free. No credit card. No commitment. Just your brain — and a preparation method that actually matches how memory works.

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readandrecall.com · No credit card · No commitment · Cancel anytime

Your brain knows it.The exam proves it.R3 bridges the gap.

The CPC Has a 40–50% First-Time Fail Rate.Here Is Exactly Why.

Two Types of Memory.Only One Passes the CPC.

AAPC Charges $799 for Their Bundle.We Charge $19 a Month. Or $369 Once.

20 Clinical Case Studies.AAPC Offers Zero.

R3 vs. The Rest.No Membership. No Rhetoric. Just the Table.

Every Feature Built on Brain Science.Not Guesswork.

Your Brain Already HasWhat It Takes.R3 Trains It to Show It.

Your brain knows it.
The exam proves it.
R3 bridges the gap.

The CPC Has a 40–50% First-Time Fail Rate.
Here Is Exactly Why.

Two Types of Memory.
Only One Passes the CPC.

AAPC Charges $799 for Their Bundle.
We Charge $19 a Month. Or $369 Once.

20 Clinical Case Studies.
AAPC Offers Zero.

R3 vs. The Rest.
No Membership. No Rhetoric. Just the Table.

Every Feature Built on Brain Science.
Not Guesswork.

Your Brain Already Has
What It Takes.
R3 Trains It to Show It.