Post operative pain blocks are raising a red flag with payers. Many surgeons routinely have anesthesia perform these blocks, even though guidelines indicate post-operative pain management is part of the global post operative period, creating medical necessity risks. Moreover, many coders, educators, auditors and providers are not aware of the vast number of documentation guidelines related to this service. Is your facility coding every one of these blocks?

To protect your facility from unwanted audits, join Becky Jacobsen, BSN, RN, MBS, CCS-P, CPC, CPEDC, CBCS, CEMC and take a deep dive into both the CMS and AMA guidelines for reporting post operative pain blocks. You’ll learn how to determine if the nerve block is separately codable with real life examples for better understanding. Becky will also cover how to evaluate whether documentation supports medical necessity, offer recommendations for stronger documentation practices, and provide guidance on educating providers about documentation requirements. She’ll include a discussion of appropriate modifier and diagnosis coding assignment so that you can be confident that your billing of post operative pain blocks is fully supported and compliant.

Why This Is Relevant:

Many do not know or understand the documentation guidelines as they relate to post operative pain blocks.  Moreover, it has become standard practice by many surgeons to have anesthesia administer these blocks. This brings up questions of medical necessity and they are routinely being coded as post operative pain blocks which is raising a red flag with payers. To protect your facility from unwanted audits, it is critical to be familiar with documentation requirements, medical necessity, and the vast number of guidelines related to this service.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the CMS and AMA guidelines related to post operative pain blocks.
• Assess whether documentation supports coding for post operative pain blocks.
• Learn how to effectively educate providers on the required documentation for these services.
• Comprehend the correct use of modifiers when billing for post operative pain blocks.
• Determine if a post operative pain block is billable based on current guidelines.

Who Should Attend:

Revenue Cycle, Compliance, auditors, coders, physicians, certified registered nurse anesthetists and anesthesia assistants.