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Orthopedic Coding Alert

Reader Question :

Use 64470 Range for Medial Branch Blocks

Published on Sun Jun 01, 2003

Question: Which code should we report for a medial branch block? New Jersey Subscriber Answer: Medial branch nerves are the very small nerve branches that communicate spinal facet joint pain. They are synonymous with facet joint nerves, so you should select a code from the 64470-64476 range, depending on the injection site (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, etc.) and the number of levels the physician injects.

Read the physician's documentation carefully to determine how many units to report, because two medial branch nerves innervate one spinal level and the code descriptor states "per level" and not "per injection."  
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