Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

Don't let dysdiadochokinesia slow up your coding.In order to decipher your neurologist's notes for proper coding, it's important to understand the various medical terms he might use in his documentation.Dysmetria:Dysmetria is an inability or impaired ability to accurately control the range of movement in muscular acts.Dysmetria results in overshooting or undershooting of a target while attempting to reach an object and is often tested by asking the patient to extend her index finger and touch her nose, says Neil A. Busis, MD, FAAN, chief of the division of neurology at Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh, Penn. The patient will then touch the neurologist's outstretched finger with the same finger. The patient goes back and forth between touching her nose and the physician's finger. Once this is done correctly a few times at a moderate cadence, the patient will continue with her eyes closed. Normally this movement remains accurate when the eyes [...]