Question

in written form: Medical Coding question: What are some different types of Anesthesia? How do they differ? How are they the same? What does reimbursement look like for each of the types of Anesthesia?

Answer 1

There are four main categories of anesthesia used during surgery and other procedures: general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, sedation (sometimes called "monitored anesthesia care"), and local anesthesia.

Local anesthetics: Block transmission of nerve impulses without causing unconsciousness. General anesthetics: Bring about a state of unconsciousness. Analgesics: Relieve pain of patients before, during or after surgery.

General anesthesia suppresses central nervous system activity and results in unconsciousness and total lack of sensation, using either injected or inhaled drugs.

Sedation suppresses the central nervous system to a lesser degree, inhibiting both anxiety and creation of long-term memories without resulting in unconsciousness.

Regional and local anesthesia, which blocks transmission of nerve impulses from a specific part of the body. Depending on the situation, this may be used either on its own (in which case the patient remains fully conscious), or in combination with general anesthesia or sedation. Drugs can be targeted at peripheral nerves to anesthetize an isolated part of the body only, such as numbing a tooth for dental work or using a nerve block to inhibit sensation in an entire limb. Alternatively, epidural and spinal anesthesia can be performed in the region of the central nervous system itself, suppressing all incoming sensation from nerves outside the area of the block.

All types of anesthesia same in the way of purpose of administration that is to keep you comfortable and pain-free during surgery, medical procedures or tests. But there are some key differences. The type you receive will depend on factors like the procedure, your health and your preference and some common side effects are also same for different anesthesia