The Misadventures of Ada: ICD-10 Cartoon, "Cat Pajamas and Cervicalgia" M54.2

It’s a beautiful Thursday morning. Pigeons are cooing, the sun is shining, and Ada greets the day with her usual wide-eyed enthusiasm. Then she sits up to stretch, and her day goes wildly downhill from there.

The crack in her neck is so loud that she’s worried she’s broken something, and her face contorts in pain. She manages to call a taxi to take her to the hospital (thanks to Siri) but can’t seem to bend to get in. “Are you okay?” The driver calls out while keeping the meter going.

Once she gets to the doctor, she discovers she’ll be trying a treatment she didn’t expect. Poor Ada! And she’s left wondering if her insurance will cover it.

Pain codes are usually reimbursed by insurance companies. So it’s up to individual health insurance providers to determine the diagnosis codes that are considered “reimbursable” for licensed acupuncturists. While several insurance companies will only accept a limited number of diagnoses, neck pain and back pain tend to be on the “will reimburse” list. So our dear friend Ada should be covered if her injury is coded correctly.

As many healthcare professionals try to heal their patients based on proven research, more and more they’re prescribing things like acupuncture.

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Download the most recent Ada cartoon to follow her on her adventure from neck pain to pincushion.

 

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