- Joined
- Apr 13, 2016
- Messages
- 2,679
- Reaction score
- 2,660
With the Medicare requirement for documentation of functionality score for RFAs, and now for epidurals, what pain functionality score are you collecting? Among the ones the Noridian LCD names, the ODI seems the shortest and simplest. However, if I interpret the language in a lawyerly way, they aren’t exactly saying you must use one of the scales listed. With that in mind, I chose the PEG scale: 3 items, one of which is pain intensity.
I’m thinking the ODI may be better for the occasional old guy who insists it isn’t really pain, but he can’t walk farther than the mailbox without the pressure in his back stopping him. However, since it will need to be administered before an injection and just about at every follow-up, I’d like to keep it as short as possible.
From the new Noridian LCD on epidurals:
I’m thinking the ODI may be better for the occasional old guy who insists it isn’t really pain, but he can’t walk farther than the mailbox without the pressure in his back stopping him. However, since it will need to be administered before an injection and just about at every follow-up, I’d like to keep it as short as possible.
From the new Noridian LCD on epidurals:
The scales used to measure pain or disability must be documented in the medical record. Acceptable scales may include Verbal Rating Scales, Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain assessment, and Pain Disability Assessment Scale (PDAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (OSW), Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (QUE), Roland Morris Pain Scale, Back Pain Functional Scale (BPFS), and the PROMIS profile domains to assess function.
