Orthopedic Coding Alert

In our December article -CPT Brings ESWT Coding From Temp to Perm,- we stated that surgeons who used posterior tibial blocks or sural nerve blocks at the ankle may find extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) reimbursement difficult because payers will only reimburse 28890 (Extracorporeal shock wave, high energy, performed by a physician, requiring anesthesia other than local, including ultrasound guidance, involving the plantar fascia) if you use anesthesia -other than local.-

However, posterior tibial nerve blocks and sural nerve blocks are not local anesthesia methods, and therefore, surgeons shouldn't have trouble getting paid if they administer these types of anesthesia with ESWT treatments. Thank you to Robert Westergan, MD, a surgeon at Jewett Orthopaedic Clinic PA in Winter Park, Fla., for pointing out the error.