Student activity sheet
The case, the questions and the coding tasks in an editable Word document.
Curriculum
30 activities that build real coding skill
A complete, ready-to-teach coding curriculum. Each activity gives students a real record to code from, and comes with the documents faculty need to teach and assess it.
30Activities
7Topic areas
30Patient records
60Word documents
CodeLab · Activity library
What’s in an activity
Everything you need to teach it, in one package
No preparation from scratch. Assign an activity and students can start in minutes.
Faculty answer key
The expected codes, their sequence and the reasoning behind them, visible to staff only.
Its own patient record
A record with the documentation, results and notes the right codes come from.
Codes entered in the EHR
Students enter their codes in the Coding activity, with edits; faculty see them when grading.
The full activity list
From the code book to the claim
Activities are grouped by topic, from first steps in the code book to inpatient coding, procedures and billing. Each names its level and the record students code from.
Orientation
The coding record and the code book: where to find what a coder needs.
The Coding Record and the Code Book
Find the information a coder needs in an outpatient record, then learn to use the CodeLab ICD-10-CM code book: search, read instructional notes and check whether a code is billable.
All levelsLayla H. NasserOrientationHands-onOutpatient
The Coding Process from Index to Tabular
Work through every step of the coding process on an emergency visit: find the main term, verify in the Tabular List, add the 7th character and the external cause codes.
All levelsMarcus D. BellOrientationHands-onEmergency
ICD-10-CM foundations
Conventions, combination codes, outpatient rules and sequelae.
ICD-10-CM Conventions: Combination Codes, "With" and Instructional Notes
Code ten diagnostic statements, each built around one ICD-10-CM convention: combination codes, "with", Use additional code, Code first, Excludes notes and laterality.
All levelsCase setConventionsIndex and TabularInstructional notes
Outpatient Coding: First-Listed Diagnosis, Symptoms and "Rule Out"
Code an office visit for chest pain where the cause is not yet known. Apply the outpatient rules for uncertain diagnoses, symptoms, chronic conditions and history codes.
All levelsRobert T. AlvarezOutpatientGuideline IVSymptoms
Uncertain Diagnoses: Inpatient versus Outpatient Rules
Code a short inpatient stay where the final diagnosis is documented as "probable", then compare it with how the same emergency visit would be coded if the patient had gone home.
All levelsSofia R. MendesInpatientUncertain diagnosisGuideline II.H
Sequelae (Late Effects) and Multiple Coding
Code a follow-up visit for the residual effects of a stroke, together with diabetes, chronic kidney disease and hypertension, applying the sequela and "with" conventions.
IntermediateHarold J. WhitmanSequelaCombination codesOutpatient
Chapter-specific coding
The chapters coders meet every day, from diabetes and hypertension to sepsis, pregnancy and injuries.
Diabetes Mellitus with Complications
Code an endocrinology visit for type 2 diabetes with hyperglycemia, polyneuropathy, retinopathy and a diabetic foot ulcer, on both insulin and an oral drug.
All levelsTeresa L. NguyenEndocrineChapter 4Combination codes
Hypertension with Heart Failure and Chronic Kidney Disease
Code an admission for acute on chronic diastolic heart failure in a patient with hypertension and CKD, applying the hypertension table logic, required additional codes and BMI rules.
IntermediateFranklin E. DoyleCirculatoryChapter 9Inpatient
Sepsis, Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock
Code an ICU admission for sepsis due to an E. coli urinary tract infection with septic shock and organ dysfunction, applying the sepsis sequencing guidelines.
IntermediateGloria M. ReyesInfectiousChapter 1Inpatient
COPD Exacerbation and Acute Respiratory Failure
Code an admission for acute respiratory failure due to a COPD exacerbation with acute bronchitis, and decide which condition is the principal diagnosis.
IntermediateDennis O. HartleyRespiratoryChapter 10Inpatient
Acute Myocardial Infarction and Coronary Intervention
Code an admission for a type 1 NSTEMI with coronary artery disease, then build the ICD-10-PCS code for a percutaneous coronary intervention with a drug-eluting stent.
IntermediateAnthony J. RussoCirculatoryChapter 9Inpatient
Neoplasms: Chemotherapy Encounters and Anemia
Code two encounters for a patient with metastatic breast cancer: an outpatient chemotherapy visit and an admission for anemia caused by the chemotherapy.
IntermediateCarmen J. OrtizNeoplasmsChapter 2Outpatient
Fractures: Traumatic or Pathological, and 7th Characters
Decide whether a hip fracture in a patient with osteoporosis is coded as traumatic or pathological, then code the admission and the follow-up visit with the correct 7th characters.
IntermediateDorothy A. FenwickMusculoskeletalInjuryChapter 13
Adverse Effects, Poisoning and Underdosing
Code four emergency visits that involve drugs, deciding for each whether it is an adverse effect, a poisoning or an underdosing, and sequencing the T codes correctly.
IntermediateCase setInjuryChapter 19Drugs
Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium
Code a vaginal delivery with a perineal laceration and a GBS-positive mother, including weeks of gestation, outcome of delivery and the ICD-10-PCS delivery and repair codes.
IntermediateOlivia R. GrantObstetricsChapter 15Inpatient
The Newborn Record: Birth, Prematurity and Perinatal Conditions
Code a late-preterm newborn's birth admission, sequencing the Z38 code first and applying the rules for birth weight, gestational age and perinatal conditions.
IntermediateBaby Boy Patel (Aarav)NewbornChapter 16Inpatient
Mental, Behavioral and Substance Use Disorders
Code an admission for alcohol withdrawal delirium with cirrhosis, depression and electrolyte problems, applying the substance use hierarchy and combination codes.
IntermediateLeonard P. NovakMental healthChapter 5Substance use
Z Codes, Preventive Visits and Social Determinants of Health
Code an annual preventive visit with abnormal findings, social determinants of health, family history and an immunization.
All levelsEdith M. CarterZ codesChapter 21SDOH
HIV Disease and Opportunistic Infections
Code an admission for Pneumocystis pneumonia in a patient with AIDS, applying the HIV sequencing rules and the differences between B20, Z21 and R75.
IntermediateJamal T. OwensInfectiousChapter 1Inpatient
Inpatient coding
Principal diagnosis, POA indicators and provider queries.
Selecting the Principal Diagnosis (UHDDS and Section II)
Select the principal diagnosis for six short inpatient cases, each testing a different rule in Section II of the Official Guidelines.
IntermediateCase setInpatientPrincipal diagnosisGuideline II
Secondary Diagnoses and Present on Admission (POA) Indicators
Decide which secondary diagnoses are reportable for a nine-day stay, code pressure ulcers using the wound nurse's staging, and assign a POA indicator to every code.
IntermediateMargaret L. OwusuInpatientPOASecondary diagnoses
Clinical Documentation Improvement and Provider Queries
Code a heart failure admission as documented, identify where the documentation does not reflect the clinical picture, and write compliant, non-leading provider queries.
AdvancedBeatrice N. HollisInpatientCDIQuery
Comprehensive Inpatient Case: Acute Ischemic Stroke
Code a complete stroke admission: the cerebral infarction with its cause, the acute neurologic deficits, the NIHSS score, comorbidities and the thrombolytic procedure.
AdvancedRaymond G. EllisInpatientCapstoneCirculatory
ICD-10-PCS
Root operations and coding procedures from operative reports.
ICD-10-PCS Structure and Root Operations
Build twelve ICD-10-PCS codes from procedure statements, choosing the root operation, body part, approach, device and qualifier for each.
All levelsCase setICD-10-PCSRoot operationsProcedures
Coding from an Operative Report: Converted Cholecystectomy
Read an operative report for a laparoscopic cholecystectomy converted to open, then assign the ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes and the ICD-10-PCS procedure codes.
IntermediateVictoria E. LambertICD-10-PCSOperative reportInpatient
Coding quality and compliance
Validating codes in an audit and checking office visits.
Coding Validation Audit
Audit ten coded encounters, find and classify each coding error, calculate the accuracy rate and recommend an education topic for the coding team.
AdvancedCase setAuditQualityCompliance
Outpatient Coding Practice: Eight Office Visits
Code eight short office visits for timed practice. Record your start and end time to measure productivity alongside accuracy.
All levelsCase setOutpatientPractice setSpeed and accuracy
Billing and reimbursement
Claims, denials and appeals, worked as a team.
Team Revenue Cycle: Building and Correcting an Inpatient UB-04 Claim
In teams of four, take an inpatient Medicare stay from registration to a clean claim: verify patient access data, code the stay, correct the revenue lines and approve a final UB-04.
IntermediateSamuel K. BoatengBillingUB-04Inpatient
Team Professional Billing: Clean CMS-1500 Claims for Office Visits
In teams, review four physician-office claims before they are sent: correct the ICD-10-CM codes, link each service to the right diagnosis, and fix place of service, modifiers and duplicate lines.
IntermediateCase setBillingCMS-1500Outpatient
Team Denial Management: Root Causes, Corrected Claims and an Appeal
In teams, work a payer remittance with six denied or adjusted claims: read the adjustment codes, find each root cause in the documentation, decide the right action, and write an appeal letter.
AdvancedCase setBillingDenialsAppeals
Team activities
From codes to payment, as a team
The billing activities are group work: students share one set of answers, and faculty grade the team together or adjust one student’s grade.
Team Revenue Cycle: Building and Correcting an Inpatient UB-04 Claim
In teams of four, take an inpatient Medicare stay from registration to a clean claim: verify patient access data, code the stay, correct the revenue lines and approve a final UB-04.
Team Professional Billing: Clean CMS-1500 Claims for Office Visits
In teams, review four physician-office claims before they are sent: correct the ICD-10-CM codes, link each service to the right diagnosis, and fix place of service, modifiers and duplicate lines.
Team Denial Management: Root Causes, Corrected Claims and an Appeal
In teams, work a payer remittance with six denied or adjusted claims: read the adjustment codes, find each root cause in the documentation, decide the right action, and write an appeal letter.
Make it yours
Adapt every activity to your syllabus
The built-in activities are a starting point, not a limit. Your faculty can change anything, and their changes are kept safe when CodeLab’s own content is updated.
- Edit instructions, points and due dates
- Replace activity sheets and answer keys with your own documents
- Change any patient record, or build a new one
- Write entirely new activities
- Assign the same activity to different sections at different times
- Use individual or team work for any activity
Ready to run these activities with your students?
Each college gets the complete library on day one.