# Using Anesthesia for Pain Management



## karenwebb (Oct 6, 2009)

We are providing pain management in an ASC and are concerned on whether we are able to have a CRNA provide anesthesia for  the doctors performing pain management. Is there any sites that can help assist me to know whether or not we can do that and if it is covered.


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## Walker22 (Oct 8, 2009)

karenwebb said:


> We are providing pain management in an ASC and are concerned on whether we are able to have a CRNA provide anesthesia for  the doctors performing pain management. Is there any sites that can help assist me to know whether or not we can do that and if it is covered.



You will have to be more specific. What pain management procedures are you performing, exactly?


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## karenwebb (Oct 9, 2009)

It will be either a Lumbar Epidural or a Cervical?


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## karenwebb (Oct 9, 2009)

for lumbar and cerivical epidurals.


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## Walker22 (Oct 14, 2009)

We do those procedures every day with only a local anesthesia. I'd be surprised if general anesthesia would be considered medically necessary.


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## jdrueppel (Oct 14, 2009)

I agree with Walker22. I believe the payers would questions medical necessity of an anesthesia charge by an attending anesthesia provider for these services when they are routinely performed without anesthesia unless there were extenuating circumstances (i.e. pediatric/mentally challenged/clear documentation that patient was unable to tolerate procedure w/o anesthesia).  

Julie, CPC


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## EllieAnn (Oct 20, 2009)

We  bill 01992AA59  for the Anesthesiologist administering the drugs. We bill 62311 for a Separate Anesthesiologist giving the injection. We are paid by most insurance companies with the exception of Aetna.  We do not bill for CRNA's working alone at our facilities ( Hospital or ASC).


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## AYCPC (Oct 20, 2009)

I recomend you check out CMS guidelines for billing CRNAs. My docs have a pain clinic as well, but we do not bill that way. In the past we had inexperienced coders/billers charging for things that were not correct and the insurance paid, but when they took all of the money back that was not fun. Hope I helped!​


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## AYCPC (Oct 20, 2009)

Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss further. If I can't help, maybe I know someone who can.


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