According to the CPT Assistant, intersegmental traction via roller tables can be reported with 97039 along with the necessary supporting documentation describing the service provided and as always, make sure to document why you, as the provider, feel it is a medically necessary service.
She is very persistant that intersegmental traction is to be recoded from 97012 to 97124. I have questioned it, but listened to her for a while until this morning I did my own research to find that on a site they state the following: This therapy is described as “not medically necessary” by BCBS-IL and Aetna in their medical policies.
Such a rationale (or denial tactic) implies that DCs should trade-in their adjusting tables for another intersegmental traction table. From a CPT® coding perspective, 97012 is a physical medicine mechanical traction modality that does not require attendance.
Types of traction include mechanical traction, manual traction (unspecific or segmental traction), autotraction, gravity-dependent (" (anti-)gravity") traction, pneumatic traction, continuous traction, and intermittent traction.
Intersegmental traction therapy is a procedure used by chiropractors to treat back pain, disc problems, and reduce muscle spasms. This type of therapy helps the healing process in your body and does not involve drugs or surgery.
Mobilizing Traction Therapy. Intersegmental traction is a chiropractic/physical therapy modality that works to stretch the spinal joints and muscles to improve mobility.
CPT 97012 can be reported for mechanical traction. Traction is generally used for joints, especially of the lumbar or cervical spine, with the expectation of relieving pain in or originating from those areas, or increasing the range of motion of the joint.
Traction is a form of decompression therapy that we are happy to offer at Physical Therapy Services. It relieves pressure on the spine and alleviates pain from joints, sprains, and spasms.
According to the CPT Assistant, intersegmental traction via roller tables can be reported with 97039 along with the necessary supporting documentation describing the service provided and as always, make sure to document why you, as the provider, feel it is a medically necessary service.
This relaxing type of mechanical traction tends to be a crowd favorite. As patients relax, the machine rolls up and down the spine (almost like a mechanical foam roller).
Because mechanical traction is an 'untimed' treatment code, it is the only counted in the total treatment time. Thus, only one unit may be billed. On the other hand, manual therapy is a 'timed' treatment code, and you may bill 2 units (15 mins each).
Traction is a modality that uses force to elongate soft tissue and separate bone surfaces at the joint.
Part B covers certain doctors' services, outpatient care, medical supplies, and preventive services. covers traction equipment that your doctor prescribes for use in your home. It's covered as durable medical equipment (DME).
Lumbar traction is the process of applying a stretching force to the lumbar vertebrae through body weight, weights, and/or pulleys to distract individual joints of the lumbar spine.
Traction means pulling on part of the body. Most often, traction uses devices such as weights and pulleys to put tension on a displaced bone or joint, such as a dislocated shoulder. The tension helps put the joint back in position and keep it still.
CPT 97012 Traction, Mechanical. Mechanical traction is generally limited to the cervical or the lumbar spine with the expectation of relieving pain originating in those areas.
Lumbar traction uses a harness (with Velcro strapping) that is put around the lower rib cage and around the iliac crest. Duration and level of force exerted through this harness can be varied in a continuous or intermittent mode. The exact mechanism through which traction might be effective is still unclear.
Autotraction is defined as the use of one’s own weight to create the traction force (i. e., the patient determine s the traction force). By utilizing positional and gravity assisted traction principles, autotraction can provide multi-plane traction.
Lumbar traction forces below 25 % of the total body weight do not seem to increase intervertebral distances, and can therefore be regarded as a placebo (sham or low dose) traction. Placebo traction can only be expected to produce relaxation of spinal muscles and modification of the spinal curve.