Medical Coding and Deciphering the Bills for Pain Injection and Radiofrequency Ablation
Pain injections and Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) are common medical procedures in litigation. Each procedure has a five-digit CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) code, as designed by the American Medical Association[1]. When reviewing a past medical bill, there should be clear dates of service and a code for the service. There might be many codes if multiple levels were treated.
Physician Charges
There should be a charge for the codes for the physician who performs the procedure.
Sedation and Anesthesia
There should be a charge for the codes for procedural sedation administered intravenously. If an anesthesiologist is used for monitored anesthesia care, there will be a separate bill for these services.
Facility Charges
Since most spinal injections and radiofrequency ablations require a sterile area and fluoroscopy, these procedures are usually done in a separate outpatient facility. This facility bill will have the same codes as the codes used by the physician who performed the procedure.
To learn more about CPT codes, see the American Medical Association or coding books available from the American Association of Professional Coders[2].
Dawn Cook is an experienced medical bill analyst and certified life care planner. In 2021, Dawn presented on pain injections at the Fall Conference for the American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners. In 2022, Dawn presented on analyzing past medical bills at the Annual Conference of the American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners.
Contact Dawn Cook directly at 702-544-2159 to discuss your case!
