Forty days building genuine inpatient DRG capability, then twenty converting it into a pass on AHIMA's Certified Coding Specialist examination.
Skill without a credential gets you overlooked by the CV filter. A credential without skill gets you found out in the first month.
The Elite Combo is our answer to both. Sixty days: forty building genuine inpatient DRG capability, then twenty converting that into a pass on the AHIMA Certified Coding Specialist examination.
The sequence is the point. Doing IP-DRG first means that when you reach the CCS phase, ICD-10-PCS is no longer a set of rules you are memorising — it is something you have already used on real operative reports for weeks. Inpatient guideline application is muscle memory rather than revision. CCS candidates typically find PCS and inpatient sequencing the hardest part of the exam; combo students arrive at that phase having already done it.
It is also, per day of training, the best value in our catalogue — and it produces the profile employers want most: a coder who can handle a full inpatient record and has the credential to prove it.
AHIMA CCS — the Certified Coding Specialist credential, AHIMA's mastery-level coding certification, covering inpatient and outpatient coding with ICD-10-CM, ICD-10-PCS and CPT, plus documentation, query and compliance judgement. This is the credential you walk away with.
IP-DRG competency — the ability to code a complete inpatient admission, determine the principal diagnosis under UHDDS rules, capture CCs and MCCs, assign ICD-10-PCS procedure codes, and arrive at and validate an MS-DRG. This is the skill you walk away with.
Together they map onto the two things an inpatient coding employer screens for: can you do the work, and can you evidence it.
By the end of this program you will be able to:
At Codeshift Healthcare Solutions, our IP-DRG & CCS Training Program is designed to develop industry-ready medical coders with strong expertise in inpatient coding, DRG assignment, and AHIMA CCS certification preparation.
This program covers the complete topic lists of both the IP-DRG Upskilling Program and the CCS Certification Program:
This program prepares you for the AHIMA CCS examination.
Source: AHIMA. Verify current details at ahima.org before registering.
| Awarding body | AHIMA |
|---|---|
| Total items | 107 — 97 scored plus 10 unscored pretest items |
| Time allowed | 4 hours |
| Passing score | 300 (scaled) |
| Exam fee | US $299 members · US $399 non-members |
| Retake fee | Same as the initial exam fee |
| Format | Open code book |
| Code books | Current-year editions. Exams on or after 1 May 2026 require 2026 books. |
| Domains | Coding Knowledge and Skills · Coding Documentation · Provider Queries · Regulatory Compliance · Information Technologies |
| Recertification | 20 CEUs per two-year cycle, 80% within HIIM domains |
| Recertification fee | US $100 members · US $249 non-members |
| Course name | IP-DRG Upskilling + CCS Certification (Elite Combo) |
|---|---|
| Credential targeted | AHIMA Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) |
| Additional outcome | Inpatient DRG coding competency |
| Duration | 60 Days — 40 IP-DRG + 20 CCS |
| Mode | Online & Classroom (Chennai) |
| Instructor | Dr. Niresh BPT, CCS · Sivashankar CDIP, CCS, CPC · Dr. Indhumathi BDS, CCS |
| Languages | English / Tamil |
| Course kit | ICD-10-CM, ICD-10-PCS and CPT code books |
| Assessments | MCQs, practice assessments and full-length mock exams |
| Case discussions | Exam-oriented |
| Chart practice | 10 days intensive, individually reviewed |
| Prerequisite | Working ICD-10-CM knowledge and record-reading experience |
| Certificate | Codeshift course completion certificate |
| Post-course support | Lifetime guideline updates, CEU and recertification guidance |
Nobody else sequences it this way, and the sequence is what makes it work.
Taken separately, the CCS program has to teach ICD-10-PCS from scratch in five compressed days — and PCS is where most CCS candidates lose the exam. Taken as the combo, you arrive at the CCS phase having spent twelve days on PCS instruction and weeks applying it to real operative reports. The exam phase becomes recall and speed rather than learning.
You also finish with the thing employers ask for and rarely get in one candidate: demonstrable inpatient chart capability plus an AHIMA credential. That combination is what moves a CV from the general pile to the shortlist for DRG, QA and audit roles.
And it costs less than the two programs taken separately, because sixty continuous days is more efficient for us to run than sixty-five days split across two enrolments.
The saving is in fees and in effectiveness, not in days. You pay less than the two programs cost separately, and the CCS phase is more productive because the PCS and inpatient work is already behind you. Time inside the CCS phase is redistributed — less PCS instruction, more mock exams and outpatient CPT.
You can, and some people do when their schedule demands it. It costs more and takes longer.
No. The exam is your decision and is booked separately with AHIMA. Most combo students do sit it, usually within a few weeks of finishing while preparation is fresh.
Not directly. The IP-DRG phase assumes a working outpatient base. Freshers should complete BMCT (Basic Medical Coding Training) first — talk to us about sequencing and we will map it out.
Yes, run as one continuous program.
Talk to us.
No. AAPC and AHIMA fees are paid directly to those organisations.
Same syllabus, same assessments. Classroom in Chennai; online live, not pre-recorded.
Guideline updates, CEU guidance, recertification reminders and alumni network access — indefinitely, at no additional charge.
Read what Codeshift students have written about their training on Google, or watch our classes on YouTube.
Every course has a defined next step. Here is where you are, and what comes next.
Tell us your background and where you want to work. We will give you a straight assessment of which course fits — even when the answer is a different one.