gabapentin as scheduled pain med

[glm777, BSN, RN]

Do you code meds like Gabapentin, Lyrica and Neurontin as pain meds in section J? In this particular case they are being used to treat neuropathy and chronic pain syndrome.

The manual says to not code the med if it used to treat the underlying cause of the pain

but by treating the underlying cause it is also preventing the reoccurrence of the pain, which is a goal of pain management meds.

Looking forward to hearing what others think.

My 2 consultants have differing opinions.

Thanks

[Talino]

Gabapentin (aka Neurontin) and Lyrica are not intended to treat a nerve damage per se. They are usually used to directly target neuropathic pain. Hence, a pain medication. I would, to set aside varying interpretations (expect a surveyor to offer hers too), have MD specify "neuropathic pain" as indication for drug use, rather than simply neuropathy.

[RyanPerry]

It has to be labeled as for "pain" for indication of use.