Code year: FY2026 (Oct 1 2025 Sep 30 2026) Audience: Certified Coders, Auditors and Clinical Documentation Specialists Access: CCO Members Last updated: April 2026 Definition Neuropathy refers to functional disturbance or pathological change in the peripheral nervous system encompassing a broad spectrum of disorders affecting sensory, motor, and/or autonomic nerve fibers
Entrapment / Compressive Mononeuropathies Conservative: wrist splinting (CTS), activity modification, NSAIDs, corticosteroid injection (CPT 20526 CTS injection) Surgical decompression: carpal tunnel release (CPT 64721), cubital tunnel decompression/transposition (CPT 64718), tarsal tunnel release (CPT 28035), peroneal nerve decompression Post-surgical documentation: note surgical findings, nerve condition, expected recovery timeline Diabetic Neuropathy Glycemic optimization (primary modifier for progression)
Other red flags include billing for cervical strain alongside cervical sprain without documentation supporting both injuries, missing external cause codes for trauma cases, and inconsistent diagnosis codes across multiple visits
Methods 17 (3), 261272
