RTM · Physical Therapy & Pain
Remote Therapeutic Monitoring for Physical Therapy
Between visits, you’re guessing. Did they do the home programme? Is the pain better or are they just saying so? RTM turns that into data you can bill for, and physical therapists can bill it in their own right.
PTs and OTs bill RTM directlyAdherence, pain and functionHIPAA · SOC 2 Type II
Between-visit pictureLive
Home exercise completionLogged per session
4 of 7 daysPain scoreDaily check-in, 0–10
6 → 4Medication adherenceObjective dose events
Tue/Thu missedFunctionRange of motion trend
Improving98975–98981the RTM code family
PTs & OTscan bill RTM in their own right
16 of 30days of data 98977 device supply requires
~$5098980, first 20 minutes of management
Overview
Why RTM Fits Therapy Better Than RPM
Remote therapeutic monitoring exists because the data that matters in musculoskeletal and pain care is not physiologic. It’s therapy adherence, pain scores, function and medication use, the things a blood pressure cuff can’t see.
There is a structural detail worth knowing before you scope a programme: physical and occupational therapists can bill RTM in their own right, which is not true of RPM, where the treatment-management codes sit with practitioners who can bill evaluation and management services. That single difference is why a busy PT clinic can stand up RTM without a physician running the day-to-day programme.
For chronic pain specifically, objective adherence data changes the conversation. Self-report and pill counts tell you very little. A record of which doses were accessed and when turns a difficult conversation about compliance into a specific one about the Tuesday and Thursday evening doses that are consistently missed. Usually a schedule problem, and usually fixable.
PTs and OTs bill RTM directlyNot true of RPM, where the codes sit with E/M-billing practitioners.
Adherence, pain and functionNone of it physiologic, which is exactly why RTM exists.
98977 needs 16 of 30 daysThe platform warns you before the billable month is lost.
PTs & OTsCan bill RTM in their own right
PTs and OTs bill RTM directly. RPM’s treatment-management codes require an E/M-billing practitioner. RTM does not, which is what makes it workable for a therapy practice.
What we monitor
What an RTM Program Tracks
None of it is physiologic, which is exactly the point.
| Signal | How it is captured | Common alert threshold | What the team does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home exercise completion | App or SMS check-in | Fewer than 3 of 7 prescribed sessions | Outreach call. Usually the plan is too long rather than the patient unwilling. |
| Pain score | Daily 0–10 check-in | Rising trend across 5–7 days | Brings the visit forward or triggers a plan review. |
| Function / range of motion | Structured self-report | Plateau or regression against baseline | Reassessment rather than more of the same programme. |
| Medication adherence | Adherence sensor | Clustered missed doses | Identifies the specific dose being missed, which is what makes it fixable. |
| Session engagement | Platform-derived | Days approaching the 16-of-30 threshold | Outreach while the billable month can still be saved. |
Alert thresholds are configured per patient by the ordering clinician and adjusted over time. The values above are common starting points, not clinical guidance, and nothing here establishes a standard of care. Reimbursement figures are approximate national non-facility Medicare averages and vary by locality, facility status, payer and calendar year: verify current rates at cms.gov or with your MAC before you bill.
Devices
What Patients Use
Mostly a phone check-in, plus a sensor where medication is part of the plan.
Adherence Sensors
Objective dose-event records that turn a missed dose into same-day outreach.
RTM 98975Blood Pressure Monitors
For the comorbid load many chronic pain patients carry.
RPM 99454Cellular Weight Scales
Where weight is part of the musculoskeletal plan.
RPM 99454Pulse Oximeters
Where respiratory comorbidity affects tolerance for activity.
RPM 99454
Programs & billing
Programs a Therapy or Pain Practice Can Bill
RTM is the anchor. The rest depends on what your practice is credentialled to manage.
Remote Therapeutic Monitoring
Device supply plus monthly management time. PTs and OTs bill this directly.
98975–98977 · 98980 · 98981Chronic Care Management
Where the practice also manages two or more chronic conditions.
99490 · 99439Behavioral Health Integration
Depression and anxiety materially affect pain outcomes and adherence.
99484 · 99492Medication Therapy Management
Pharmacist-led review where the regimen is the problem.
99605–99607
How it runs
How a Month Runs
1
Step 1 of 5
Enrol and consent
Written consent is required before RTM services begin, and it is captured with a timestamped record.
2
Step 2 of 5
Set the home programme
Prescribed sessions, pain check-in cadence and any medication tracking are configured per patient.
3
Step 3 of 5
Data arrives between visits
Check-ins by SMS or app, dose events by sensor. The platform counts toward the 16-of-30 device-supply threshold.
4
Step 4 of 5
Act on the gaps
Missed sessions and rising pain scores drive outreach, not a note read at the next appointment.
5
Step 5 of 5
Bill the month
Device supply and management time are documented against 98977, 98980 and 98981 as the work happens.
FAQs
Pain Management & Physical Therapy Remote Monitoring: Common Questions
Can physical therapists bill remote therapeutic monitoring?
Yes. RTM was designed so that qualified healthcare professionals who cannot bill evaluation and management services, physical therapists and occupational therapists among them, can bill the codes in their own right.
This is the key structural difference from RPM, where the treatment-management codes sit with E/M-billing practitioners. It’s why a PT clinic can run RTM without a physician directing the day-to-day programme.
What is the best remote monitoring software for physical therapy?
For a therapy practice the criteria are narrower than general RPM feature lists suggest:
- Therapist-billable workflow: the platform has to support RTM billed by the PT or OT, and not assume a supervising physician.
- Adherence and function capture beyond vitals: home exercise completion, pain scores and range-of-motion trending.
- Threshold tracking against 16 of 30 days, with alerts before the billable month is lost.
- Concurrent-billing safeguards so RTM management time is never counted as RPM time.
HealthArc covers all four, and can supply the clinical staffing if the practice has none spare.
Which CPT codes apply to RTM for physical therapy?
98975 covers initial setup and patient education. 98977 is device supply for musculoskeletal therapy monitoring and requires data on at least 16 of 30 days. 98980 covers the first 20 minutes of monthly treatment-management time and 98981 each additional 20 minutes.
The respiratory equivalent of the device-supply code is 98976. See the full RTM code reference for requirements and current rates.
Can RTM and RPM be billed for the same patient in the same month?
The device-supply codes cover different data types and can coexist, but the treatment-management time cannot be double-counted: minutes billed under RTM (98980/98981) may not be the same minutes billed under RPM (99457/99458).
Practices running both need one time log with concurrent-billing safeguards, which is the specific failure mode when the two programmes live in separate systems.
Does remote monitoring for chronic pain require an opioid regimen?
No. RTM tracks therapy adherence, pain scores and function regardless of what the medication plan looks like, and many programmes run entirely around exercise adherence and function.
Where medication is part of the plan, objective adherence data is genuinely useful, because it replaces self-report and pill counts with a record of which doses were accessed and when.
How much does an RTM program pay?
Approximate national non-facility Medicare averages: device supply around $55 per patient per month, first 20 minutes of management around $50, and each additional 20 minutes around $41. Setup and education is a one-time code.
Rates vary by locality, facility status, payer and calendar year. Run your own caseload through the revenue calculator and verify current rates at cms.gov before you plan around them.
Keep reading
Related guides and programs
Scope an RTM program for your clinic
Bring your active caseload. We’ll model the billable population under 98977, 98980 and 98981.
Resources
From the HealthArc blog
Practical guidance on remote monitoring, devices and billing. Updated with every new post.
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Read articleHow can HealthArc help you?
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