April 19, 2023
If you’re a physical therapy business owner, you’re likely always looking for innovative ways to provide your patients with the best possible care.
One exciting development in healthcare is remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM), and the good news is that it’s now reimbursable by insurance. When comparing Remote Therapeutic Monitoring VS Remote Patient Monitoring there are some major differences.
Remote Therapeutic Monitoring involves using technology such as wearable devices and mobile apps to monitor a patient’s health and progress. This information is then sent to healthcare professionals who can provide personalized care and support remotely. With the new CPT codes released by CMS, providers can now get reimbursed for educating patients on how to use a remote care-management platform, monitoring a platform’s alerts and patients’ use of remote education, direct patient/provider messaging within the platform, and data collection via the platform.
Remote Therapeutic Monitoring VS Remote Patient Monitoring- The major differences are that Remote Patient Monitoring is done by a physician, not a physical therapist and includes monitoring vital signs, medication management, etc.
To qualify for reimbursable remote therapeutic monitoring, providers need to use software deemed a medical device by the FDA. MovementRx, a vendor of a digital care-management platform, recently received such a designation for its software.
So, how can physical therapy business owners take advantage of this innovative approach to healthcare? First, you need to use a software that is deemed a medical device by the FDA. This will ensure that you meet the criteria for reimbursable RTM. Next, you need to educate your patients on how to use the remote care-management platform. Using a digital care-management platform that qualifies as a SAMD and provides continuous patient engagement and flexible care-management capabilities is critical to effective and efficient patient education.
Monitoring a platform’s alerts and patients’ use of remote education is another important factor. With the parameters for meaningful touchpoints identified by CMS, providers can work with their platforms to configure efficient workflows and even incorporate automation for manual tasks. This will allow you to efficiently monitor your patients’ progress and provide them with the care and support they need.
Direct patient/provider messaging within a platform is also an important component of RTM. All messaging must be between the patient and their own care team. Health information can’t be generic, out-of-the-box or outsourced to a call center. Delivering preemptive patient education and configuring the platform to fit the workflows for different clinicians can make communicating with patients efficient and effective.
Finally, data collection via a platform is reimbursable as well. A digital care-management platform needs to bring all the pertinent data points together to create a holistic view of patients and their care episodes. Coupling a wealth of patient data with ongoing interaction creates a continual feedback loop, so care teams can adapt a care plan to meet the patient’s needs every step of the way.
As a physical therapy business owner, you can use remote therapeutic monitoring to provide your patients with continuous care and monitoring from the comfort of their own homes. This innovative approach to healthcare has the potential to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. If you’re interested in learning more about remote therapeutic monitoring and how it can benefit your practice, consider implementing this innovative approach to healthcare.
To learn more about remote therapeutic monitoring and how you can implement this into your physical therapy practice click here
To learn more about remote patient monitoring click here