Pain management coders: There are scores of new and modified codes to be aware of in 2018, warns Amy Turner, a coding pro. So let’s dig in!
Turner recently covered coding changes for the field in her conference for ProfEdOnDemand, “2018 CPT and ICD-10 Updates for Pain Management.”
New Codes for Spinal Stenosis and Drug Abuse Remission
New codes impacting pain management include:
- The addition of M48.061—Spinal stenosis, lumbar region without neurogenic claudication
- The addition of M48.062—Spinal stenosis, lumbar region with neurogenic claudication
- The deletion of M48.06—Spinal stenosis, lumbar region
More new codes for pain management include F10.11 through F19.11 for remission of abuse for alcohol, opioid, cannabis, sedatives, cocaine, other stimulants, hallucinogens, inhalants, and other psychoactive substances.
Get to Know G89—Pain Not Elsewhere Classified
G89 has oodles of details under its broad heading, Turner said:
- 0—Central pain syndrome
- 1—Acute pain, not elsewhere classified
- 2—Chronic pain, not elsewhere classified
- 3—Neoplasm-related pain (acute) (chronic)
- 4—Chronic pain syndrome
Coders should use G89 as a first diagnosis when a patient presents for pain management and pain control, noted Turner—or if a patient presents for treatment of the underlying cause. The pain must be specified as either acute or chronic, post-thoracotomy, post-procedural, or neoplasm-related.
Code 99024: If You’re from Kentucky or 7 Other States, Pay Attention!
As of July 1, 2017, practitioners from a handful of states were required to report on claims data of post-operative visits. Those states are: Kentucky, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, and Rhode Island.
In her presentation, Turner also clarified information for epidural injections:
- 62321 handles injections of diagnostic or therapeutic substances;
- Do not report 62321 in conjunction with 77003, 770921 or 76942;
- Do not report 62323, 66235, or 66237 in conjunction with those above three codes either.
Finally, Turner explained that 99152—moderate sedation, may be accompanied by 99153 for each additional 15 minutes of intraservice time, and that to report 99152 there must be a minimum of 10 minutes of moderate sedation.
