Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

Question: How should I report a catheter implantation for long-term medication administration? The medication will be administered through an infusion pump.

New Jersey Subscriber

Answer: It depends on whether or not the provider performed a laminectomy in addition to the catheter implant. Choose one of the following codes for this service, after answering the laminectomy question:

• 62350 — Implantation, revision or repositioning of tunneled intrathecal or epidural catheter, for long-term medication administration via an external pump or implantable reservoir/infusion pump; without laminectomy
• 62351 — … with laminectomy.

Laminectomy evidence: According to Codify, a laminectomy is “removal of a portion of the vertebra called the lamina, which is the posterior arch or the back part of the vertebra that covers the spinal canal.” If you see evidence of this type of procedure in the encounter notes, consider 62351 instead of 62350.