Chronic pain management is a difficulty for both physicians and patients. Physicians employ various modalities, including interventional treatments and noninvasive approaches to control the pain and assist patients in managing the condition. Providers must assign proper codes on claims to indicate the patient’s need for which the services were delivered when they adopt multimodal pain treatment programmers. That is a complex undertaking because of the frequent changes in state and federal legislation, billing standards, and codes. Our pain management medical billing firm is dedicated to assisting physicians in staying up to date on these developments and submitting error-free claims. Let’s take a look at the 2022 pain management CPT code revisions and standards and other codes that are presently in use.
Changes to CPT Codes for Pain Management in 2022
Two CPT codes were eliminated in 2022 and replaced with new regulations that give greater specificity regarding operations done.
01935 Anesthesia for interventional image-guided spine and spinal cord surgeries; diagnostic
01936 CPT®2022 eliminates anesthesia for percutaneous image-guided treatments on the spine and spinal cord; therapeutic and replaces it with new, more precise codes.
The new codes 01937-01942 define the type of surgical operation administered anesthesia and whether the surgery is conducted on the cervical, thoracic, lumbar or sacral spine.
New codes
For the year 2022, there are nine new CPT codes for anesthesia and pain management. The new codes 01937-01942 classify the surgical procedure for which anesthesia is supplied and whether the surgery is conducted on the cervical, thoracic, lumbar or sacral spine.
01937 Anesthesia for percutaneous image-guided injection, drainage, or aspiration treatments on the spine or spinal cord; cervical or thoracic
01938 Anesthesia for percutaneous image-guided injection, drainage, or aspiration treatments on the spine or spinal cord; lumbar or sacral
01939 Anesthesia for neurolytic agent-guided percutaneous image-guided destruction treatments on the spine or spinal cord; cervical or thoracic
01940 Anesthesia for percutaneous image-guided neurolytic agent destruction treatments on the spine or spinal cord; lumbar.
01941 Anesthesia for percutaneous image-guided neuromodulation or intravertebral surgeries on the spine or spinal cord (e.g., kyphoplasty, vertebroplasty); cervical or thoracic
01942 Anesthesia for percutaneous image-guided neuromodulation or intravertebral surgeries on the spine or spinal cord (e.g., kyphoplasty, vertebroplasty); lumbar or sacral
64628 Thermal amputation of the intraosseous basivertebral nerve, including full imaging guidance; first two vertebral bodies, lumbar or sacral
64629 Thermal destruction of the lumbar or sacral intraosseous basivertebral nerve, including all imaging guidance; each additional lumbar or sacral vertebral body.
93319 3D electrocardiographic imaging and postprocessing for congenital heart anomalies during transesophageal echocardiography or transthoracic echocardiography for evaluation of cardiac structure(s)
Other Commonly Used CPT Codes for Pain Management
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is the practice of embedding tiny needles through the skin in specific parts of the body to relieve pain and re-establish energy flow. This alternative is also used to treat migraine, regulate stress, and boost overall wellbeing. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health Trusted Source, acupuncture can help relieve neck and lower back pain and discomfort caused by arthritis and knee pain.
CPT Codes for Acupuncture
97810: Acupuncture, one or more needles, no electrical stimulation, first 15 minutes of one-on-one contact with patients.
97811: Each further 15 minutes of one-on-one contact with the patient, with needle re-insertion.
97813: Acupuncture, more than one needle, electrical stimulation, first 15 minutes of face to face contact with the patients.
97814: Each extra 15 minutes of one-on-one interaction with the patient, with needle re-insertion.
Acupuncture is measured in 15-minute intervals of personal interaction with the patient, not the length of the acupuncture needle(s).
Report 97810 or 97811: If no electrical stimulation is applied during a 15-minute increment.
Report 97813 or 97814: If any needle is electrically stimulated during a 15-minute increment.
One code should be reported for 15 minutes’ increment.
97810 or 97813: Use for the first 15-minute increment.
Only one initial code should be reported each day.
Radiofrequency Ablation
RFA is a minimally invasive therapy in which an electric current is sent to a specific nerve tissue region to prevent it from generating pain signals. It can give lasting relief for illnesses including chronic pain, especially in the lower back, neck and arthritis joints. Mild anesthesia may or may not be employed. The following CPT codes are used to record RFA:
64625: Image-guided radiofrequency ablation of nerves innervating the sacroiliac joint.
64999 Nervous system process.
64625 Report radiofrequency ablation accomplished with standard or cooled radiofrequency.
64999 CPT code should be used to describe pulsed radiofrequency ablation.
CPT codes must be accompanied by ICD-10 codes that demonstrate medical reason. Services must be appropriate and required in the circumstances and fulfil the standards outlined in the accompanying determination.
Since elements of needle placement might have a substantial impact on the codes, reliable documentation is required to give the appropriate codes. Pain management treatments can be complex to code since there are so many codes to reflect various diagnostic and therapeutic techniques and references to injection sites. The easiest method to deal with this problem is outsourcing pain management medical coding and billing to a professional. AAPC certified coders are employed by companies that provide medical coding services for this specialty. Experts will question the doctor to explain procedures, give appropriate codes, and guarantee proper claim submission for maximum compensation.
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