In a final 2022 Medicare Fee Schedule rule that didn't contain many bright spots, one win, pushed for by APTA, stood out: PTs can now bill five remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) codes related to cost, set-up, and monitoring of devices that measure patient therapy adherence and therapy response. APTA now offers a practice advisory to help you put those codes to use.

The focus of the new resource is on two sets of CPT codes: 98975, 98976, 98977, related to RTM services; and 98980 and 98981, related to RTM treatment management services. The codes were created to account for devices that allow patients to self-report, manually enter, and digitally upload nonphysiologic data related to musculoskeletal system status, respiratory system status, therapy adherence, and therapy response.

Although CMS excluded PTs from using these codes in the proposed 2022 fee schedule rule, APTA pushed for the agency to expand use. CMS made the change in the final version of the rule, which took effect Jan. 1.

The advisory includes background on the codes, descriptions of each, documentation requirements, and guidance on which codes are subject to payment adjustment under the PTA differential system now in place. The resource also features clinical examples to help you understand the real-world application of the codes.