Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM): What your rehab team should know about the final rule

One positive outcome published in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Final Rule on the 2022 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule was clarification around the use of RTM codes. 

In an era of aiming to promote aging in place, supporting effective transitions across care environments and most importantly the evolution of alternative options to traditional care models, therapy teams should take note of our newly approved access to remote therapeutic monitoring CPT codes. 

We all struggle, you know we do, when the time comes to discharge those for which we care. 

This is even more challenging when they have significant clinical complexity and comorbidity which will require continued (maybe even lifelong) monitoring and maintenance of various body systems.

Even after a course of skilled rehabilitative services, extensive patient and caregiver training, heck, we may have even ensured effective learner understanding of safety and compensatory techniques.

We lose sleep, we worry and we hope and pray that all our lessons stick once our patients return to their prior living environments.

What if… just what if there were codes that would allow us to monitor respiratory system status, musculoskeletal system status, therapy adherence and therapy response. 

Remote therapeutic monitoring could allow you to achieve this exactly.