Pain Management Coding
The fund of knowledge required by pain management coding is special insofar as it encompasses evaluation-and-management coding along with neurology, spine surgery, radiology, orthopaedics, and often other clinical specialties. The fact that it is so broad in scope, yet so focused in its goals means that pain management coding presents a series of unique challenges. Pain management coders need to be familiar with essentially all of these clinical subspecialties and have a thorough understanding of the involved wide range of conditions and related treatments, as well as the complex rules and regulations governing Medicare and Workers’ Compensation claim submission. Knowing the intricacies of the Medical Decision Making components of the service is pivotal to accurate pain management coding. The Coding Network’s pain management coding team offers you:
- Leadership by a nationally known anesthesia-and-pain management coder with over 27 years of coding and consulting experience.
- A team of experienced, proficiency tested, and continuously Q/A reviewed coders who only code for anesthesiology and pain management specialists.
- Multi-modality pain management coding expertise: office, ASC, tertiary academic medical centers, and private practices.
The Pain Management Coding Need
- The nature of pain management involves a preponderance of Workers’ Compensation, personal injury, and Medicare-disability patients. Many also convert to Medicaid if disabled and unable to work. The OIG feels that there have been billing abuses involving the care of Medicare and chronic pain patients, so its annual Work Plan targets these providers for additional scrutiny and audits. State Workers’ Compensation review boards have become more aggressive in audits and denials. Patients in chronic pain are often litigious. All of this means that an inadvertent coding error can quickly cascade into an unfortunate and costly legal nightmare for the pain management physicians.
- Pain management coding encompasses multiple clinical specialties. This makes pain management coding significantly more complicated. Specialty-specific pain management coding education and experience is critical for coding accuracy.
- Experienced and skilled pain management coders are hard to find and can demand high salaries.
- Few pain management coders and anesthesiology coders have the certified procedural coder designation, a symbol career commitment and of quality coding.
- Coder turnover creates cash flow peaks and valleys.
- With so few coders specializing in pain management coding, it is difficult to find and hire experienced coders, even in large metropolitan areas. Practices and hospitals in smaller communities and tight labor markets have trouble filling openings.
TCN’s Pain Management Coding Solution
- TCN's team of anesthesiology-and-pain management coders have the necessary specialty subspecialty coding experience to accurately code for all modalities of pain management care.
- Our certified and specialty-experienced pain management coders will code your services within 2-to-3 workdays when sent consistently.
- We will identify documentation deficiencies to help improve the quality of your medical records and optimize reimbursement.
- Our volume-driven per-service pricing model is cost effective and our team of coders stabilizes cash flow performance.
- Reduce compliance audit exposure due to inadvertent pain management coding errors or persistent errors by noncompliant physicians.
- A practical and affordable solution for your pain management coding needs to improve coding and documentation.
Pain Management Coding Services
- Temporary or ongoing pain management coding coverage for all or part of your caseload.
- Backlog coding resolution services.
- Your single source for both pain management ASC facility coding and pain management professional coding from one source.
- Compliance and missed revenue audits.
- Charge-ticket (“superbill”) updates and redesigns to stay current with coding changes.
- Physician documentation and code selection training.
- Physician group documentation deficiency reporting.
- Pain management coding helpline services.
OIG and RAC audit defens
