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Anesthesia Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

V58.69 Could Work for Chronic Narcotic Use

Published on Mon Feb 05, 2007

Question: What diagnosis should I use for chronic narcotic use? Louisiana Subscriber Answer: Some coders report 304.90 (Unspecified drug dependence; unspecified), but others aren't comfortable documenting "drug dependence" and "chronic use" together. Depending on your physician's documentation, another option could be V58.69 (Long-term [current] use of other medications). Example: V58.69 is appropriate when your pain management physician states that the patient has been using narcotics for her pain (indicating long-term use for therapeutic reasons) but states nothing about actual dependence.
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