Remote Therapeutic Monitoring in 2026: CPT Codes, Billing Rules, and Everything Your Practice Needs to Know

Remote Therapeutic Monitoring is one of the most significant revenue opportunities available to pain management and rehab therapy practices right now. Yet many practices are either not enrolled in an RTM service at all, or leaving money on the table by only partially implementing the available codes.

This guide covers everything your practice needs to know in 2026 — from how it differs from Remote Patient Monitoring, to which providers are eligible, to what documentation is required for each code, to how new CPT codes for RTM may evolve in the future.

What is the Difference Between Remote Therapeutic Monitoring and Remote Patient Monitoring?

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Remote Therapeutic Monitoring are often confused, but they cover fundamentally different types of patient data and different clinical use cases.

RPM tracks physiological data — heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose, oxygen saturation — typically collected by wearable or connected medical devices. RPM is most commonly used in cardiology, endocrinology, and pulmonology. It requires FDA-cleared devices and has specific technical requirements around data transmission.

Remote Therapeutic Monitoring tracks non-physiological data reported directly by the patient — pain levels, functional status, activity, sleep, mood, and medication adherence. Unlike RPM, it does not require a medical device or FDA-cleared hardware. Patients can self-report through a smartphone app or web-based RTM platform. This makes it far more accessible and far less expensive to implement than RPM and RTM approaches that rely on wearable technology.

For pain management, physical therapy and occupational therapy, and musculoskeletal care, RTM service is the more relevant and more practical option. The non-physiological data it captures reflects how a patient is functioning between in-clinic visits and whether their care plan is working as intended.

Why is RTM Important for Modern Pain Management?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services designed this program to address a fundamental gap in how pain management therapy services are delivered. Traditional care models measure a therapeutic response only at the point of an appointment. Between visits, a patient's functional status, adherence to their therapy plan of care, and day-to-day pain experience are essentially invisible to the clinical team.

A well-implemented program functions as a digital therapeutic bridge — one that allows patients to report how they are doing from home and gives qualified health care professionals the data they need to assess therapeutic response and adjust the plan of care before the next scheduled visit. This shift from episodic to continuous monitoring is the core value proposition, and it is why the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has continued to expand reimbursement for these services each year since 2022.

A Practical Summary: How RTM Works and Who It Helps

RTM is intended to bridge the gap between in-clinic visits by collecting non-physiological data from patients between appointments. Unlike remote patient monitoring, which relies on using medical devices to track physiological signals, RTM allows patients to self-report data related to signs of functional change — pain, mood, activity, sleep, and overall improvement — directly from a digital home device in under a minute.

The remote therapeutic monitoring program is built around a clear set of RTM CPT codes. Code 98975 covers initial set-up and patient education and is billed once per patient lifetime. The device supply codes are triggered by days of data transmission — 2 to 15 days in a 30-day period for 98985, and 16 days of data or more for 98977. Treatment management codes require a physician or other qualified healthcare professional to review RTM data and document their time. CPT 98980 covers the first 20 minutes of therapeutic monitoring treatment management services in a calendar month and requires at least one communication with the patient such as a phone call or video call. RTM can be billed for an additional 20 minutes using 98981 when qualified health care professional time exceeds the first 20-minute threshold.

A qualified healthcare professional reviewing patient data must document their qualified healthcare review time accurately to satisfy billing requirements. Patient data collected through the RTM platform is used to assess therapy response, monitor musculoskeletal system status, and adjust the therapy plan of care between in-clinic visits. RTM data helps providers identify changes in patient progress per episode of care that would otherwise go undetected until the next appointment.

The benefits of remote therapeutic monitoring extend across specialties. Physical therapists and PT or OT practices use RTM to monitor home exercise program adherence and therapy adherence between sessions. Physical therapy and occupational therapy providers bill for RTM using the same 98975 through 98981 framework as physician practices. It is important to note that certain provider types cannot be billed independently — for example therapy services delivered by assistants rather than a qualified healthcare professional require supervising provider sign-off before RTM codes can be submitted.

RPM and RTM: Choosing the Right Remote Monitoring Program for Your Practice

For practices weighing RPM and RTM options, the decision typically comes down to patient population and the type of data collected. Remote monitoring via RPM uses FDA-cleared medical devices to capture physiological signals, while a new RTM program collects non-physiological data reported directly by the patient. For most pain management and musculoskeletal practices, RTM fills the clinical gap more practically and at lower cost.

Medicare Advantage plans generally cover remote therapeutic monitoring under the same framework as traditional Medicare, though reimbursement rates vary. Medicaid services coverage depends on the state. It is worth confirming what your payer mix will cover before enrolling large volumes of patients.

A new RTM program that is properly implemented generates consistent monthly revenue while improving outcomes for enrolled patients. The RTM billing framework has expanded the RTM opportunity significantly since 2022, and new codes and pathways are anticipated as CMS continues to refine the program. Practices that use RTM now are well positioned to take advantage of new CPT codes as they become available.

RTM allows practices to capture value they are already delivering — the monitoring, the availability, the between-visit relationship — but were not previously billing for. Whether you are looking to cover remote therapeutic monitoring costs for existing patients or build a new revenue stream from scratch, the RTM program represents one of the most accessible and scalable opportunities in healthcare billing today.

What are the Remote Therapeutic Monitoring CPT Codes?

CMS introduced billing codes in 2022 and has continued to refine reimbursement since. The current framework includes the following RTM CPT codes:

CPT 98975 — Initial set-up and patient education. Billed once per patient, per provider, per lifetime. Covers the time spent configuring the monitoring platform and educating the patient. Reimburses approximately $29.95.

CPT 98985 — Device supply with basic data collection, 2 to 15 days of monitoring in a 30-day period. The supply code for patients in the early stages of engagement. Reimburses approximately $72.20 per month.

CPT 98977 — Device supply for musculoskeletal monitoring, 16 days of data or more in a 30-day period. For patients logging consistently throughout the calendar month. Reimburses approximately $72.20 per month.

CPT 98979 — Treatment management services, 10 to 19 minutes of clinical review in a calendar month by a qualified healthcare professional. Reimburses approximately $33.61 per month.

CPT 98980 — Treatment management, first 20 minutes of clinical review in a calendar month. Requires at least one communication with the patient or caregiver, such as a phone call, video call, or secure message. Reimburses approximately $68.78 per month.

CPT 98981 — Each additional 20 minutes of treatment management beyond the first. Add-on to 98980. Reimburses approximately $50.99 per month.

A fully engaged patient completing regular check-ins and requiring 20 or more minutes of monthly clinical review generates $100 to $155+ per month in net new revenue for the practice.

2026 RTM Codes and Reimbursement Rates

Here is a summary of current reimbursement rates for 2026:

CPT Code	Description	Reimbursement
98975	Initial set-up and patient education (once per patient)	~$29.95
98985	Device supply, 2 to 15 days of data collection	~$72.20/month
98977	Device supply, 16 days of data or more	~$72.20/month
98979	Treatment management, 10 to 19 minutes	~$33.61/month
98980	Treatment management, first 20 minutes	~$68.78/month
98981	Treatment management, additional 20 minutes	~$50.99/month

Rates are based on Medicare national average reimbursement. Commercial payer rates vary.

Who Can Bill for RTM?

The codes can be billed by a range of qualified healthcare professionals. Unlike some programs that are restricted to physicians only, this framework was designed to be accessible across the care team.

Which Healthcare Providers are Eligible to Bill for RTM?

The following provider types are eligible under current CMS guidelines:

Physicians (MD, DO)
Nurse Practitioners (NP)
Physician Assistants (PA)
Physical Therapists (PT)
Occupational Therapists (OT)
Speech Language Pathologists (SLP)
Clinical Psychologists

For pain management practices, this means that not only attending physicians but also the PAs and NPs on your team can bill for RTM for their own patient panels. This significantly expands eligible volume within a single practice.

Can Physical Therapy Assistants (PTAs) Use RTM?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions about eligibility, and the answer requires nuance.

Physical Therapy Assistants and Occupational Therapy Assistants can be involved in delivery of the program, but they cannot independently bill for RTM management codes. The treatment management codes (98979, 98980, 98981) require a physician or other qualified healthcare professional to review and act on the data.

PTAs can support the program operationally — helping patients with onboarding, answering questions, encouraging engagement. However the clinical review that drives reimbursement must be performed and documented by a supervising qualified healthcare professional. This is an important distinction that cannot be billed around.

What are the RTM Billing Codes?

The codes fall into two categories: device supply codes and treatment management codes.

Device supply codes (98985, 98977) cover the supply of the monitoring platform and collection of patient-reported data. These codes do not require an interactive communication with the patient. They are triggered by the patient submitting data on the required number of days within the period — 2 to 15 days for 98985, and 16 days of data or more for 98977.

Treatment management codes (98979, 98980, 98981) cover clinical time spent reviewing patient data and managing their care. The first management code in a calendar month (98980) requires at least one interactive communication — a phone call, video call, or documented secure message exchange — with the patient or caregiver. This is sometimes referred to as the communication with the patient requirement and it resets each month.

What are the Reporting and Documentation Requirements for Each Billing Code?

Documentation is the foundation of compliance. Here is what is required for each code:

98975 (Initial set-up and patient education): Document the time spent on patient education and platform setup. Note the date, the provider performing the education, and confirmation that the patient understands how to use the monitoring system.

98985 (Device supply, 2 to 15 days): Patient must have submitted data on at least 2 days within the 30-day period. The days of data collected are recorded automatically by a compliant RTM platform.

98977 (Device supply, 16 days of data or more): Patient must have submitted data on at least 16 days within the 30-day period.

98979 (Management, 10 to 19 minutes): Document the date, total time spent reviewing patient data, and a clinical summary of findings and actions taken. This code covers 10 to 19 minutes of review within a calendar month.

98980 (Management, first 20 minutes): Document as above, plus evidence of at least one interactive communication with the patient or caregiver during the calendar month. This can be a phone call, a video call, or a secure message — it must be documented in the chart and referenced in the note.

98981 (Management, additional 20 minutes): Document additional time spent. No further communication with the patient is required beyond what was already documented for 98980.

Key Billing Rules for RTM in 2026

Several rules are worth knowing before your practice begins submitting claims:

RPM and RTM cannot be billed simultaneously. A patient cannot be enrolled in both programs in the same calendar month. Practices must choose one per patient per month.

Device supply codes are billed per 30-day period, not per calendar month. The period is a rolling 30-day window from the date monitoring begins.

Management codes require a new communication with the patient each month. The interactive communication requirement for 98980 resets monthly. A call from last month does not satisfy this month's requirement.

Code 98975 is billed once per patient, per provider, per lifetime. If a patient transfers to a new provider, the new provider may be eligible to bill 98975 again but this should be confirmed with your compliance team.

Consent must be documented. Patients must provide informed consent to participate. This consent should be in the record before any codes are submitted.

Medicaid coverage varies by state. While Medicare covers this program nationally, Medicaid services reimbursement depends on the state and plan. Confirm coverage with your major payer mix.

Physical Therapy and Remote Patient Monitoring

Physical therapists and occupational therapists are among the primary intended beneficiaries of the RTM framework. CMS designed the code set specifically to address between-visit monitoring needs of musculoskeletal and respiratory therapy patients — a population that closely matches the typical PT and OT caseload.

For physical therapy practices, this provides a reimbursable pathway for the monitoring and care management work that therapists have always done informally — tracking home exercise program adherence, checking in on patient progress, identifying patients who are struggling between sessions.

What are the Benefits of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring?

Clinical benefits:

Earlier identification of changes in musculoskeletal system status between in-clinic visits
Improved therapy adherence monitoring and home exercise program tracking
Reduced risk of avoidable escalation or emergency visits
More informed care plan decisions at every appointment, based on actual between-visit data rather than patient recall
Improved outcomes through consistent patient progress monitoring

Financial benefits:

$100 to $155+ per enrolled patient per month in net new revenue
No additional patient visits required to generate this revenue
Scalable from 50 to thousands of patients with no proportional increase in overhead
Revenue compounds over the lifetime of long-term patients

Operational benefits:

Structured touchpoints replace ad-hoc phone calls and unreturned messages
Automated alert generation means clinical staff only engage when data warrants it
Patient progress data provides a more complete clinical picture ahead of every appointment

Does Medicare Cover Remote Therapeutic Monitoring?

Yes. Medicare covers this program under the CMS codes introduced in 2022. Coverage applies to Medicare Part B beneficiaries with a qualifying musculoskeletal or respiratory condition and an active care plan.

Medicare Advantage plans generally follow traditional Medicare coverage policies, though reimbursement rates may vary by plan. Commercial payers are increasingly covering it as well. Medicaid services coverage varies by state and plan.

Practices should verify coverage with their major payer mix and stay current with payer policy updates as coverage continues to evolve.

Will We Get New CPT Codes for RTM in the Future?

The code set has already evolved since its introduction in 2022, and further changes are likely. CMS has signaled continued commitment to expanding reimbursement for between-visit care management, and new CPT codes for RTM are anticipated as the program matures.

Several areas where expansion has been anticipated include additional condition-specific codes beyond musculoskeletal and respiratory, codes addressing group-based monitoring, and potential integration with broader chronic care management frameworks.

Practices implementing a new RTM program now are well positioned to take advantage of any future code expansions, since the infrastructure and workflows required are largely the same regardless of which specific codes are billed.

What Should My Practice Consider When Choosing an RTM Company or RTM Service?

Not all programs are created equal. When evaluating a vendor or RTM service, practices should ask the following:

Is the program fully managed or do we need to staff it ourselves? In-house programs require dedicated staff for patient outreach, onboarding, monitoring, and billing. Fully managed RTM service providers handle all of this on the practice's behalf.

How does patient onboarding work? The best programs pre-populate patient information from existing records so patients simply choose a password and begin logging — no lengthy registration that drives drop-off.

What does the patient-facing experience look like? Engagement rates are significantly higher when the check-in is genuinely simple. Look for an RTM platform where the patient interaction takes under 60 seconds.

How is clinical review time tracked? Chart review time must be accurately documented. Look for platforms that automatically track provider time spent reviewing patient data.

How is the billing handled? Confirm whether the vendor handles the billing end to end or simply provides data for your team to process.

What are the fees and when do you pay? Reputable programs allow practices to pay after reimbursement — not upfront.

Is the platform HIPAA compliant? This is non-negotiable. Confirm the RTM platform is built on HIPAA-compliant infrastructure and that a Business Associate Agreement is in place.

What are Some Best Practices for RTM?

Practices with the strongest outcomes and highest engagement follow a consistent set of best practices:

Keep the patient experience simple. A digital therapeutic tool that takes more than a minute to use will see rapid drop-off. The most successful programs use streamlined check-ins — five simple questions that a patient can complete from a digital home device in under 60 seconds.

Introduce the program at the point of care. Patient adoption is significantly higher when a provider or care team member briefly explains the program during a visit rather than relying solely on an email invitation.

Review data before every appointment. Providers who review patient-reported data ahead of each visit consistently report more productive appointments and better ability to assess therapeutic response over time.

Understand the billing requirements before you start. Coding errors are one of the most common reasons RTM claims are denied. Ensure your team is clear on which codes apply to which patients, what days of data are required for each device supply code, and what documentation is needed to support each treatment management claim.

Work with a partner who knows the billing requirements. For most practices, the fastest path to a compliant and profitable program is working with an RTM service that handles billing end to end rather than training existing staff on a new billing workflow from scratch.

Common Questions About Remote Therapeutic Monitoring

Does the program allow patients to communicate directly with their care team? Most RTM platforms allow patients to add notes to their check-ins, flagging concerns or questions for their provider to review. This supports more meaningful communication between visits without creating an unmanageable volume of direct messages for clinical staff.

Can it only be used for patients doing fully virtual care? No. The program is designed to complement in-person care, not replace it. The vast majority of enrolled patients have regular appointments and use the between-visit check-ins to keep their care team informed of how they are doing between those appointments.

What happens if a patient's data indicates a concerning therapeutic response? A compliant RTM platform automatically flags data that falls outside defined thresholds — a sudden pain spike, a significant drop in activity, or a sustained change in mood or sleep. The care team reviews flagged alerts and determines whether outreach is needed before the next scheduled visit.

How does this fit within an existing therapy plan of care? RTM does not replace or modify the existing plan of care. It supplements it by providing between-visit data that informs how the plan is adjusted over time. The clinical review requirement ensures that a qualified health care professional is actively using the data to guide ongoing care decisions.

How Do My Patients Benefit From Using RTM?

Patients benefit in ways that go beyond the clinical data. Being monitored between visits changes the experience of care. Patients feel more connected to their providers, more supported between in-clinic appointments, and more engaged in their own care plan.

Fewer gaps in care. Patients no longer have to wait until their next appointment to surface a concern. The program creates a structured channel for ongoing communication.

Earlier intervention. When patient progress data indicates a change — a pain spike, a drop in activity, a week of poor sleep — the care team can reach out before the next scheduled visit. This helps improve outcomes by preventing small issues from becoming bigger ones.

Better informed appointments. Providers reviewing data before an appointment arrive better prepared. Visits are more focused and more productive.

A sense of being seen. Chronic pain patients often describe feeling invisible between in-clinic visits. Knowing their check-in data is reviewed by their care team is itself meaningful for many patients.

No cost to the patient. Medicare and most commercial insurance plans cover this program. There is no additional co-pay or out-of-pocket cost for enrolled patients.

Meeting the Needs of Musculoskeletal Patients Through RTM

Musculoskeletal patients represent the ideal population for this program. Their conditions are chronic, their musculoskeletal system status fluctuates between visits, and their care plans require ongoing monitoring and adjustment.

For these patients, the program provides something that scheduled in-clinic visits alone cannot: a continuous data feed capturing how they are actually doing day to day. Pain levels that spike mid-week, activity levels that drop following a flare, sleep disruption that correlates with increased pain — these signals drive clinical decision-making and they are invisible in a visit-only care model. Remote monitoring makes them visible and actionable.

How Can RTM Help Rehab Therapy Providers?

For physical therapists, occupational therapists, and other rehab therapy providers, the program addresses a longstanding gap in the care model: what happens to patients between sessions.

Home exercise program adherence is one of the most significant predictors of rehab outcomes and one of the hardest things to monitor in-clinic. RTM provides a structured, reimbursable mechanism for tracking how patients are doing with their home programs and for intervening early when therapy adherence drops or symptoms worsen.

Beyond monitoring, it gives rehab therapy providers a way to capture revenue for care coordination and data review that was previously uncompensated.

Starting a Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Program

Getting a new RTM program off the ground requires four things: an eligible patient population, a compliant RTM platform, a workflow for clinical review, and a process for billing.

For practices working with a fully managed partner, the last three are handled externally. The practice focuses on identifying patients with an appropriate care plan and briefly introducing the program at the point of care. The partner handles everything else.

For practices implementing in-house, expect a 60 to 90 day ramp before the program reaches steady state. Staff need training on the RTM platform, outreach workflows need to be established, and the billing process needs to be configured for the code set.