Remote Therapeutic Monitoring for Physical Therapists

By Sudeep Bath | February 28, 2024

Benefits of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM)

Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) is a technology-driven practice that has improved the communication between patients and physical therapists, going past geographical constraints and enabling healthcare professionals to extend their care and therapy services beyond the clinic walls.

Physical Therapists (PTs) can harness this patient monitoring and management system for data-driven insights, customized interventions, and therapy success.

Table of Contents

What is Remote Therapeutic Monitoring?

Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) enables healthcare professionals to remotely monitor and manage their patients’ progress and formulate treatment plans based on health data reporting. It involves collecting non-physiological data from patients via an FDA-approved Software-as-a-Medical-Device (SaMD). For a comprehensive overview of RTM, including its applications and benefits, explore our guide: Everything You Want to Know About Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM).

As per the CMS Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule, the non-physiological data includes “musculoskeletal system, respiratory system, therapy or medication adherence, and response.”

Patients can self-report data within the connected medical devices and software that is monitored and analyzed by the physical therapists to assess the patient’s pain levels, tolerance to therapy, and other relevant data impacting the treatment outcomes.

Physical therapists can track patients’ movements, exercises, and vital signs in real-time using RTM devices, including wearable sensors, smartphone applications, or digital health platforms. After assessing this data, physical therapists may provide individualized guidance; customize therapy programs, and execute exercises to improve recovery results.

How Does RTM Benefit Physical Therapists?

There are numerous reasons why RTM is beneficial for physical therapists and the most significant ones are listed below:

Boosts Patient Outcomes

By improving engagement and adherence, RTM is greatly enhancing the patient outcomes for physical therapists. It does so by developing a method for following up on patients and reinforcing behavior modification and remote care plans. By applying the new RTM codes for 2024, physicians can track their patient’s musculoskeletal and respiratory status, along with assessing pain levels, sleep patterns, HEP adherence, physical exercise performance, and modifying treatment plans.

PTs can even figure out if the patients are following the treatment plan or need guidance, support, education, and/or encouragement to achieve their therapy goals.

To learn more about specific applications, see our guide on RTM for musculoskeletal care.

Collects More & Better Data

To ensure better patient outcomes, data collection plays a crucial role. Efficient data collection involves gathering, analyzing, and assessing patient records that most therapists and clinicians struggle with, which may be due to time constraints or a busy schedule.

RTM streamlines this data collection process, thereby allowing physical therapists to collect the right and quality data about their patients’ lifestyles and health-related activities. This data can aid PTs with better clinical decision-making, patient experience, outcomes, and medication adherence.

Offers Additional Revenue Source

Billing the RTM codes can yield considerable returns to the physical therapists, who can bill an additional $160 per patient for the eligible CPT codes under certain situations. Along with this, therapists will be reimbursed for the work done previously before RTM was considered reimbursable. For a comparison of revenue opportunities with similar monitoring services, explore our guide on RPM vs. RTM.

Reduces Barriers To Care

Almost 15% of the US population resides in remote areas with limited access to health care, thereby making routine doctor visits quite inaccessible and expensive. This accessibility challenge poses a significant risk to healthcare outcomes. RTM program aims at providing remote care and therapy to patients with geographical and transportation limitations.

Financial Benefits Of RTM for Physical Therapists

In addition to improving patient care and engagement, RTM delivers substantial financial benefits for physical therapists. Some of the most significant ones include:

Increased Revenue Per Care Plan

Physical therapists can use RTM to bill additional codes, such as the initial setup price, monthly device fee, and monitoring time fees. Incorporating the new billing codes in physical therapy care may result in an average of $333* additional income per patient. (*the amount varies for different locations)

Higher Patient Engagement Rate

RTM boosts the patient engagement rate by around 70-75% and improves a therapist’s bottom line with an annual profit of $140,000 approximately. This profit can be generated by providing patients with remote therapeutic monitoring services without increasing the in-clinic workload for a therapist.

Improved Profit Margin

RTM can significantly boost the profit margin for PTs by up to 60% approximately by implementing an RTM program at their practice. This can greatly benefit private clinicians who generally have a lower profit margin or reimbursement rate.

Considerations For Implementing RTM At Your Therapy Practice

RTM is a beneficial approach to improving the quality and efficiency of care for patients receiving physical or rehabilitation therapy. Incorporating it into your practice requires an initial investment in technology and training. Though there’s a significant investment in the start, the margins are worthwhile the return on investment. Some aspects to consider when implementing an RTM include:

Clearly define your goals and objectives
Carefully select your patient base
Provide adequate training to staff on RTM
Develop a plan for analyzing RTM data
Integrate RTM into existing workflows
Implement policies to protect patient privacy

Get The Most Of Your RTM Reimbursements With HealthArc

HealthArc is a leading provider of digital health platforms, RPM systems, and Remote Therapeutic Monitoring software for physical therapists, clinicians, and qualified healthcare professionals. Our digital platforms assist PTs in ensuring efficient billing, reimbursement, and patient outcomes.

Book a demo today to find out how our RTM system works or feel free to talk to our team at +201 885 5571 to learn more about our healthcare dashboard.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is RTM, or Remote Therapeutic Monitoring?

Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) is a digital health method that uses software and connected devices to find out how well patients are following their treatment, how much pain they are in, how well they are moving, and how well they are functioning. Doctors can still keep an eye on their patients’ progress even when they’re not in the office.

What are the advantages of RTM for physical therapists?

RTM enables physical therapists to monitor patients in between appointments, create data-driven care plans, engage patients more actively, facilitate adherence to prescribed exercises, and enhance the efficiency of clinical workflows.

What kinds of data can RTM collect for physical therapy?

RTM can collect information about a patient’s activity, such as their range of motion and repetitions, as well as their reported outcomes, such as pain scores, mobility metrics, and compliance information. All of these things help therapists figure out how well their patients are getting better.

How does RTM make physical therapy work better for people?

RTM lets doctors and therapists check a patient’s progress with their rehabilitation on a regular basis. This lets them step in early if progress slows down, encourages communication, and lets them make changes to treatment plans that are specific to each patient. All of these things help people get better faster and with better results.

Can RTM get patients more involved?

Yes. Through active feedback loops, progress tracking, and direct communication with their therapist, RTM gives patients a sense of responsibility and involvement. This makes them more interested and likely to stay with the program.

Does RTM help physical therapy clinics cut costs?

RTM can help people avoid going to the clinic too often, find problems earlier so they don’t get worse, and make the time spent in the clinic more useful. In the long run, all of these things can help both practices and patients save money.

Can physical therapists get paid for RTM?

When the right paperwork is in place, you can often use certain CPT codes (like 98975–98980) to bill for RTM services. This lets physical therapy clinics make more money while still helping their patients.

What does RTM do to help doctors save time?

RTM automatically collects data and keeps track of progress, which means less manual charting and administrative work. Therapists can spend less time entering data and more time making decisions about patients’ care and giving them personalized care.

Who would benefit from RTM in physical therapy?

RTM can help people who are recovering from surgery, chronic pain, or musculoskeletal injuries, or anyone who has been told to do exercises at home. This is especially true if you want to keep track of your progress and stay motivated.

What kind of technology do people need for RTM?

Most of the time, patients need a smartphone or tablet that works with the system. They can use wearable sensors, motion trackers, or apps that safely collect and send therapeutic data to their therapist.

Tags: #remotetherapeuticmonitoring, #rtm, #rtmmonitoing, #therapeuticcare