Don’t assume separate coding for J0670, anymore.

The latest Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) edits contain plenty of anesthesia and pain management pairs you should check — and straight away. They went into effect July 1. CCI 16.2 encompasses 16,843 new edit pairs, according to analyst Frank Cohen, MPA, of MIT Solutions, Inc., in Clearwater, Fla. With 11 percent of all active edits affecting anesthesia procedures, you can’t afford to miss any of the changes.

Other Work Includes Paravertebral Facet Injection

Although the current CPT book doesn’t include them, you could begin using several new codes for paravertebral facet joint injections in January 2010. Now CCI edits bundle two of the new codes with every anesthesia code (00100-01999) and many nerve destruction procedures. The paravertebral injection codes affected are:

• 0213T — Injection(s), diagnostic or therapeutic agent, paravertebral facet (zygapophyseal) joint (or nerves innervating that joint) with ultrasound guidance, cervical or thoracic; single level
• 0216T — Injection(s), diagnostic or therapeutic agent, paravertebral facet (zygapophyseal) joint (or nerves innervating that joint) with ultrasound guidance, lumbar or sacral; single level.

Procedures paired with 0213T and 0216T range from 64600 (Destruction by neurolytic agent, trigeminal nerve; supraorbital, infraorbital, mental, or inferior alveolar branch) and 64622 (Destruction by neurolytic agent, paravertebral facet joint nerve; lumbar or sacral, single level) to 64650 (Chemodenervation of eccrine glands; both axillae). Most of the edit pairs carry a “0” modifier indicator, but CCI lists a few with modifier indicator “1.” Check the full CCI file to verify whether you can use a modifier to break specific edits.

ME Edits Also Hit 0213T-0218T

Paravertebral facet joint injection codes 0213T-0218T come into play as part of mutually exclusive (ME) edits, as well.

CCI 16.2 pairs each choice with corresponding codes involving fluoroscopy or CT guidance: 64490-64492 (Injection[s], diagnostic or...