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Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

Pick Out the Best Migraine Dx

Published on Sat Apr 24, 2010

Question: A new 49-year-old patient presents with recurring headaches. She reports that the headaches started sporadically a number of weeks ago, increasing in frequency but decreasing in severity to the point that she was having mild to moderate headaches daily that she was treating with various over-the-counter headache medications. Then, the patient had the "worst headache of her life" yesterday; symptoms included photophobia and phonophobia, seeing blue spots, and "crushing" pain behind her left eye. The neurologist ruled out medication overuse and other diagnostic possibilities as a cause of the most recent headache. The final diagnosis is migraine without aura. The neurologist orders and provides direct supervision of a 100 mg Demerol injection and lays out a plan of care for the patient. If the neurologist can't refine his diagnosis, what would be the best diagnosis code to use?Illinois SubscriberAnswer: If the physician cannot give you a more specific diagnosis, [...]
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