Leveraging Remote
Patient Monitoring
in Your Practice
Use technology to manage patient conditions
and improve health outcomes
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) technology allows health care providers to use devices that gather
and analyze health information without a face-to-face appointment or in-person testing. RPM is not
a new practice, but it continues to grow in popularity for the convenience it provides patients and the
opportunities it offers to improve patient care.
Care management
Remote patient monitoring technology can be used to manage a variety of acute and chronic
conditions or symptoms, including:
High blood pressure and other heart conditions
A remote blood pressure monitoring cuff allows the patient to take their reading and instantly
send the data to your electronic health records for your review
Diabetes
Internet-connected glucose monitors allow you and your patients to track blood sugar levels in
real time
Weight loss or gain
Bluetooth-enable “smart scales” are popular with patients because they can connect to wearable
fitness tracking devices, among other reasons
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Common COPD monitors include photoplethysmography and respiratory force sensors
Implementation tips
Keep these factors in mind as you look to integrate RPM into your practice:
Patient education
Ensuring your patients know how to use the equipment you’ve recommended for them is a crucial
component of a successful RPM program. Here are a few tips:
Walk your patient through operating the device in a telehealth appointment, and make sure they have
written instructions that they can refer back to
Tell your patient what types of readings you will get from their device and how you will receive that
information
Encourage your patient to write down their questions and either call your office, email you the
questions through a patient portal, or request a follow-up telehealth appointment
Billing and reimbursement
If your patients are enrolled in Medicare, note that CMS uses the term “remote physiologic monitoring” in
their coding and billing language. These billing codes describe non-face-to-face monitoring and analysis of
physiologic factors used to understand a patient’s health status.
Turn to Telehealth.HHS.gov
