{"id":40914,"date":"2022-12-05T13:59:19","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T18:59:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mtelehealth.com\/?p=40914"},"modified":"2022-12-05T13:59:19","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T18:59:19","slug":"cpt-code-set-moving-at-the-speed-of-digital-health-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drmiltie.com\/at-home-testing\/cpt-code-set-moving-at-the-speed-of-digital-health-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"CPT code set moving at the speed of digital health innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Physician adoption of digital health tools continues to grow, as does the infrastructure facilitating appropriate payment for their use. The Current Procedural Terminology\u00a0(CPT\u00ae) code set, often called \u201cthe language of medicine,\u201d is expanding to meet the demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe CPT code set does move at the pace of medicine, and it continues to evolve<\/a> and keep pace with all of the changes,\u201d said Leslie Prellwitz, the AMA\u2019s director of CPT content management and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you look at digital medicine, the areas with significant physician interest, confidence, utility and patient care also have significant CPT code representation,\u201d Prellwitz said during a recent AMA webinar on telehealth<\/a>, other digital health tools, and CPT coding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The webinar built on the most recent findings of an AMA physician survey<\/a> (PDF) that indicates adoption of digital tools has grown significantly among all physicians regardless of gender, specialty or age. Improved clinical outcomes and work efficiency are identified as the key drivers of adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Supporting telehealth is an essential component of the\u00a0AMA Recovery Plan for America\u2019s Physicians<\/a>. \u00a0Telehealth is critical to the future of health care<\/a>, which is why the AMA continues to lead the charge to aggressively expand telehealth policy, research and resources to ensure physician practice sustainability and fair payment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Massive shift on telehealth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAdoption of remote-care tools such as televisits or telehealth and remote monitoring have seen the most movement,\u201d said Meg Barron, the AMA\u2019s vice president of digital health innovations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn’t a huge surprise, given the spike in usage during the pandemic,\u201d Barron added. \u201cBut when you think about this, the use of telehealth has tripled since 2019, which is a massive shift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital health encompasses a broad scope of tools, going beyond telemedicine and remote monitoring wearables, apps and more. The digital health tools that garner the most enthusiasm among physicians are televisits (57%) followed by remote-monitoring devices (53%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of ensuring proper payment, the CPT code set classifies the latter applications as either tools for remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) or remote therapeutic monitoring (RPT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RPM CPT codes were created in 2019 and cover device setup, educating patients in the use of the devices, device supply and the management of patient treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RPM codes are intended to be used in the monitoring of a patient\u2019s physiologic parameters such as weight, blood pressure, pulse oximetry or respiratory flow rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RTM CPT codes<\/a> were launched this year and are also used for device supply, device setup and patient education in their use, plus patient adherence and response to therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTherapeutic monitoring is really being able to look at the impacts of a particular treatment regimen,\u201d Prellwitz said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While much expansion is expected, current RTM codes focus on musculoskeletal system status, respiratory system status, cognitive behavioral therapy, therapy adherence and therapy response, and the review and monitoring of data related to a therapeutic response,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related codes include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n