The North American Spine Society published coverage for the use of lumbar interspinous devices without fusion but with decompression.
The evidence-based coverage recommendations cover procedures performed with devices such as Paradigm Spine's coflex; the new recommendations provide the evidence private health insurance companies require for patients to undergo the procedure.
The NASS coverage policy recommends using lumbar interspinous devices without fusion but with decompression to treat patients with lumbar spinal stenosis; the recommendation applies only to devices used in conjunction with a direct decompressive procedure, which currently only includes coflex.
Coflex has underwent an FDA IDE clinical trial which demonstrated positive long term results with Level I evidence compared to fusion; since then, the procedure has achieved an established CPT and site-of-service facility coding pathways.