New coding guidance: Prepare for new post-op pain care, revised neurostim analysis before Jan. 1

Why This Topic Matters

The changes affect how certain procedures and related services are reported, making it important for coding teams to review impacted CPT categories, associated diagnosis codes, and timing of the revisions before they take effect.

Article Sections

1. Paravertebral post-operative pain codes

   Introduces upcoming CPT changes related to postoperative pain management in anesthesia settings and notes the broader clinical contexts where these services may appear.

2. Watch out for cases where the block is the mode of anesthesia

   Addresses the distinction between postoperative pain services and cases where regional techniques are used as the primary anesthetic approach.

3. New neurostimulator changes

   Summarizes a revision affecting neurostimulator analysis services and mentions associated diagnosis categories that may accompany these visits.

4. New prolonged services

   Covers revisions to prolonged service reporting in the CPT 2016 materials, including changes affecting outpatient, psychotherapy, and office-based service categories.

5. Resources

   Lists the source materials and reference documents cited by the article.