Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

Do not forget that your clinician may perform the block to diagnose occipital nerve pathology and then perform a more definitive step to treat the same. For example, your physician may perform a block and then request the patient to maintain a pain diary and return to the clinic for a check on the success of the block. "Many payers now require providers to include in their post injection documentation, the patient's response to the diagnostic procedure, i.e. pain level, percentage of pain relief and/or capability to perform previously painful maneuvers," says Marvel Hammer, RN, CPC, CCS-P, PCS, ACS-PM, CHCO, owner of MJH Consulting in Denver, Co. If the block provides desired relief, your clinician may decide to repeat the block or administer the block into another occipital nerve. "There is no difference in reporting these on subsequent visits as the global period is 0 days," says Gregory Przybylski, MD, [...]