Primary Care Coding Alert

Verify evidence of previous treatments for successful claims.If you're coding for a patient's carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) injection, double check for previous, less invasive CTS treatments before getting too far with your claim. Reason: If the physician administers an injection during the patient's initial visit for CTS, you could be facing a denial. Some payers allow CTS injection therapy only when other treatments have failed.Check out these FAQs to make each CTS coding scenario a snap.Should the Physician Try Other Treatments Before 20526?Yes. The FP would likely try less invasive treatments before resorting to CTS injection (20526, Injection, therapeutic [e.g. local anesthetic, corticosteroid], carpal tunnel), confirms Marvel J. Hammer, RN, CPC, CCS-P, PCS, ACS-PM, CHCO, owner of MJH Consulting in Denver. These treatments might include, but are not limited to: splinting (or bracing)medication (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) occupational therapy.If the patient's symptoms don't improve after these attempts, the physician may then proceed [...]