RTM made effortless.

RTM is a Medicare-recognized care model that lets a physical therapy practice stay connected to a patient's recovery between visits. Using a device or software that qualifies as an FDA medical device, your team tracks non-physiologic information — home-exercise-program adherence, reported pain, mobility, and how the patient is responding to therapy — and is reimbursed for reviewing that data and acting on it.

CMS introduced the first RTM codes in the 2022 Physician Fee Schedule specifically to bridge the gap between appointments, where much of the guidance given in clinic is quickly forgotten and only a minority of patients complete their home programs on their own.

They sound alike but cover different data and different clinicians. RPM tracks physiologic measurements such as blood pressure, weight, glucose, or blood-oxygen levels, usually through a connected device that transmits readings automatically, and only physicians and certain non-physician practitioners can bill it.

RTM was built for the therapy world: it monitors non-physiologic data — musculoskeletal and respiratory status plus therapy adherence and response — it allows patient self-reported entries, and, crucially for a PT clinic, physical therapists and other qualified therapists can furnish and bill it directly. The two cannot be billed for the same patient in the same calendar month.

Yes. Under CMS rules, RTM falls within the scope of physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists, alongside physicians, subject to applicable state practice laws.

When a therapist furnishes RTM, CMS treats it as a “sometimes therapy” service, so it belongs under a therapy plan of care and carries the appropriate therapy modifier. PTAs and OTAs working under supervision can also contribute toward the monthly treatment-management time.

RTM centers on therapy-relevant, non-physiologic information rather than vital signs. For a PT practice that typically means musculoskeletal status, home-program adherence, pain and symptom reports, functional progress, and outcome measures, and it can extend to respiratory-system monitoring.

A key distinction from RPM is that the information does not have to stream automatically from a device — patient-entered data, such as logging completed exercises or answering a check-in, counts, as long as it flows through a qualifying medical device or software.

RTM codes fall into two groups: service codes and treatment-management codes. The core set most PT clinics use includes an initial setup-and-education code billed once per episode of care (98975), a device-supply code for musculoskeletal monitoring based on days of data in a 30-day window (98977, for 16–30 days), and monthly treatment-management codes for provider time spent reviewing data and communicating with the patient (98980 for the first 20 minutes, with 98981 as a 20-minute add-on).

Effective January 1, 2026, CMS added lower-threshold musculoskeletal codes recognizing shorter engagement — a device-supply code for 2–15 days (98985) and a management code for 10–19 minutes (98979) — so more of the work clinicians already do becomes billable. Exact code selection and payment follow the current Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, so confirm specifics with your payers.

A few conditions must be met. Monitoring has to run through a device or software meeting the FDA's definition of a medical device, and you should obtain and document the patient's consent to participate.

Device-supply codes require a minimum number of days of data within a 30-day period, while the monthly management codes require sufficient provider time plus at least one live, interactive conversation with the patient or caregiver during the month — a real-time phone or video touchpoint. Texts, emails, and chat messages can support the care but do not, on their own, satisfy that live-communication requirement. Documenting the device, the days of data, the time spent, and the clinical decisions made is what keeps each claim defensible.

It depends on how many patients you enroll and how consistently they engage, but the codes are designed to stack: a one-time setup fee at enrollment, a monthly device-supply payment, and monthly management payments that grow with provider time. In practice this commonly works out to roughly $150 in added monthly revenue per enrolled patient.

The 2026 code additions let clinics capture shorter-duration and lower-intensity monitoring that previously fell below billing thresholds, widening the pool of eligible patients. Because RTM reimburses work many clinicians are already doing between visits, it tends to add revenue without disrupting the schedule.

Copper Health runs RTM as a full-service partner rather than another piece of software for your team to manage. We handle enrollment, day-to-day monitoring, patient engagement over simple text messages — no app to download — and the documentation that supports billing.

There is nothing to pay upfront and no fixed monthly fee; our compensation is tied to the RTM volume we help you generate. The result is a new recurring revenue stream and stronger home-program adherence, without adding tasks to your clinicians' day.