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A.2.01.85
Neural therapy involves the injection of a local anesthetic such as procaine or lidocaine into various tissues such as scars, trigger points, acupuncture points, tendon and ligament insertions, peripheral nerves, autonomic ganglia, the epidural space, and other tissues to treat chronic pain. Neural therapy has been proposed for other chronic illness syndromes such as allergies, infertility, tinnitus, multiple sclerosis, depression, and chronic bowel problems. When the anesthetic agent is injected into traditional acupuncture points, this treatment may be called neural acupuncture.
The practice of neural therapy is based on the belief that energy flows freely through the body. It is proposed that injury, disease, malnutrition, stress, and scar tissue disrupt this flow, creating disturbances in the electrochemical function of tissues and energy imbalances called “interference fields.” Injection of a local anesthetic at specific sites is believed to re-establish the normal resting potential of nerves and flow of energy. Alternative theories include fascial continuity, the ground (matrix) system, and the lymphatic system.
There is a strong focus on treatment of the autonomic nervous system, and injections may be given at a location other than the source of the pain or location of an injury. Neural therapy is promoted mainly to relieve chronic pain. It has also been proposed to be helpful for allergies, hay fever, headaches, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, asthma, hormone imbalances, libido, infertility, tinnitus, chronic bowel problems, sports or muscle injuries, gallbladder, heart, kidney, or liver disease, dizziness, depression, menstrual cramps, and skin and circulation problems.
Neural therapy is a procedure and, as such, is not subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Related medical policies are –
Neural therapy is considered investigational for all indications.
None
The coverage guidelines outlined in the Medical Policy Manual should not be used in lieu of the Member's specific benefit plan language.
Neural therapy should be distinguished from the use of peripherally injected anesthetic agents for nerve blocks or local anesthesia. The site of the injection for neural therapy may be located far from the source of the pain or injury. The length of treatment can vary from one session to a series of sessions over a period of weeks or months.
Investigative is defined as the use of any treatment procedure, facility, equipment, drug, device, or supply not yet recognized as a generally accepted standard of good medical practice for the treatment of the condition being treated and; therefore, is not considered medically necessary. For the definition of Investigative, “generally accepted standards of medical practice” means standards that are based on credible scientific evidence published in peer-reviewed medical literature generally recognized by the relevant medical community, and physician specialty society recommendations, and the views of medical practitioners practicing in relevant clinical areas and any other relevant factors. In order for equipment, devices, drugs or supplies [i.e, technologies], to be considered not investigative, the technology must have final approval from the appropriate governmental bodies, and scientific evidence must permit conclusions concerning the effect of the technology on health outcomes, and the technology must improve the net health outcome, and the technology must be as beneficial as any established alternative and the improvement must be attainable outside the testing/investigational setting.
03/22/2012: Approved by Medical Policy Advisory Committee.
04/01/2013: Policy reviewed; no changes.
03/07/2014: Policy reviewed; no changes.
01/20/2015: Policy reviewed; description updated. Policy statement unchanged.
07/31/2015: Code Reference section updated for ICD-10.
01/13/2016: Policy reviewed; no changes. Investigative definition updated in policy guidelines section.
06/01/2016: Policy number A.2.01.85 added.
01/04/2018: Policy description updated regarding FDA regulation of neural therapy. Policy statement unchanged.
01/04/2019: Policy reviewed; no changes.
12/10/2019: Policy reviewed; no changes.
01/13/2021: Policy description updated to include multiple sclerosis as a condition for which neural therapy has been proposed. Policy statement unchanged.
01/26/2022: Policy reviewed; no changes.
12/15/2022: Policy reviewed; no changes.
12/13/2023: Policy reviewed; no changes.
01/29/2025: Policy reviewed; no changes.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association policy # 2.01.85
This may not be a comprehensive list of procedure codes applicable to this policy.
Code Number | Description |
CPT-4 | |
No specific codes | |
HCPCS | |
ICD-10 Procedure | |
ICD-10 Diagnosis |
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