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2021 E/M Guidelines Chronic Pain

A

afelgner

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Buchanan, MI
If a patient has chronic lumbar pain and chronic knee pain does that count as 2 chronic conditions? Or would they lump it together as 1 under chronic pain? They would have to be evaluated as two seperate regions with seperate pain scales and seperate assessment/management so I would say two seperate conditions. Thoughts?
 
I think it would depend on the physician's documentation. The back pain could be caused by the knee pain or vice versa. The documentation would have to specifically state the two conditions are unrelated.
 
Most chronic pain is connected. Our pain patients don't rate their pain over different parts of their bodies... once they are in chronic pain, it's just one number. During the physical exam, the doctor will figure out where something hurts more than something else, and the management is usually the same for all the pain. It's not like one pain pill is for the back and one pain pill is for the knee. Although, we did have a patient who told me that the Norco we gave them was for their back pain and the Norco they got at the same time from their dentist was only for their tooth pain. Uggghhhh.
 
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