Pacific Spine & Pain Society was developed to bridge the gap between spine surgery and pain medicine. Societies dedicated to spine care are generally derived from the specialties of their training which may not emphasize cross-disciplinary education and care. Despite disparate training, we encounter the same patients, and sometimes our philosophies grate. In retrospect, this has led to some adverse outcomes that we think can be overcome with better understanding of the others’ perspectives. PSPS serves as an open forum for this discussion. We prefer to take on challenging topics and promote and criticize emerging technologies; it is rooted in research, clinical excellence, and patient-centric care.
The pacific region is home to some of the strongest academic programs and private practitioners in the world. Oftentimes national organizations are unable to meet the loco-regional issues when it comes to advocacy and policy for access to care. Our board is multi-disciplinary, diverse, and inclusive. We offer first-class educational events in our attractive cities and venues. We welcome you to join and be a part of growing PSPS.
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Dear PSPS Members,
The evolution in ICD-10 coding has been important in the field of interventional spine, spine surgery, and pain medicine. This taxonomy means a great deal to patients, providers, public health researchers, and for coverage and reimbursement. In the last decade, we have seen the bridging of radiographic codes with symptomatic codes. One of the first examples was to group lumbar spinal stenosis (M48.06) with or without neurogenic claudication M48.062 or M48.061, respectively. The addition of the third digit after the decimal point was to describe the symptomatic portion. Recently in October of 2024, a similar delineation was made for discogenic pain. Despite a long history of discussing and describing discogenic pain since the 1940s, it did not have a ICD-10 code. Now, the radiographic code of M51.36 is bridged with symptoms as outlined below.
· M51.360: Discogenic back pain only
· M51.361: Lower extremity pain only
· M51.362: Discogenic back pain and lower extremity pain
· M51.369: No mention of lumbar back pain or lower extremity pain
· M51.370: Discogenic back pain only
· M51.371: Lower extremity pain only
· M51.372: Discogenic back pain and lower extremity pain
· M51.379: No mention of lumbar back pain or lower extremity pain
PSPS feels this is an important step in helping to diagnose our patients, and to provide access to care for patients who are identified with these diagnoses. We will continue to promote coding that is in line with how we practice, potentially forging a facetogenic ICD-10 code in the future.
Thank You,
Drs. Samir Sheth and Jennifer Lee
Through the PSPS Podcast we hope listeners will learn not only about the medical topics but equally important the physicians/colleagues behind it all.
The PSPS Podcast is not your average podcast. That was our priority in putting our podcast together. As with all of PSPS didactics and lectures, we wanted evidence-based medicine to be the driving force behind our podcast. However, at the same time we wanted to ensure that the format was not redundant and repetitive with what is already available.
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