Coverage decision

L&I does not cover autologous blood injection/patch therapy at this time for lateral epicondylitis or any other indication. This procedure is considered experimental due to a lack of published literature indicating safety and effectiveness.

Autologous blood injections are intended to treat lateral epicondylitis, or "tennis elbow". It has been hypothesized that blood injections contain the cellular and humoral mediators to induce a healing cascade. Approximately 2 ml of blood are taken from a patient and mixed with 1 ml of lidocaine; the mixture is then injected into the patient at the lateral epicondyle.

Autologous Blood Injections technology assessment (27 KB PDF).

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