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Anesthesia Coding Alert

CD-9 Checkpoint:

Show Nerve Block Necessity With This Quick Key

Published on Sat Jan 01, 2005

Don't let faulty diagnosis coding shortchange your claims

CMS publishes a relatively short list of ICD-9 diagnosis codes that support medical necessity for single nerve blocks such as 64415 (Injection, anesthetic agent; brachial plexus, single). Some of these conditions you might see in a pain management setting include:

 

  • 053.12 and 053.13 for Postherpetic trigeminal neuralgia and Postherpetic polyneuropathy

     
  • 141.0-239.9 for all neoplasms

     
  • 307.81, Pain disorders related to psychological factors; tension headache

     
  • 337.20-337.29 for reflex sympathetic dystrophy

     
  • Various diagnoses from 350 to 355 for peripheral nervous system disorders

     
  • 443.0, Raynaud's syndrome

     
  • 443.9, Peripheral vascular disease, unspecified

     
  • 784.0, Symptoms involving head and neck; headache.

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