Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

Hint: 20526 and 20527 override 130+ other codes.The latest Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits went into effect Jan. 1, 2012, with hundreds of new edits pertaining to pain management. Focus on changes to injection pairs and nerve destruction to ensure you choose correctly for some of your most common pain management procedures. Primary Joint Injection Goes FirstSome of pain management specialists' most common procedures include joint and tendon injections. Before reporting these for your provider in 2012, check out some CCI edits affecting those codes: Joint injection codes 20600 (Arthrocentesis, aspiration and/or injection; small joint or bursa [e.g., fingers, toes]), 20605 (... intermediate joint or bursa [e.g., temporomandibular, acromioclavicular, wrist, elbow or ankle, olecranon bursa]), and 20610 (...major joint or bursa [e.g., shoulder, hip, knee joint, subacromial bursa]) are the Column 1 codes with new procedure code 20527 (Injection, enzyme [e.g., collagenase], palmar fascial cord [i.e., Dupuytren's contracture]).Tendon injection procedures [...]