Furthermore, the social burden of asthma 9 and COPD 10 is demonstrated by the millions of days absent from work and school by both patients and caregivers. Acute and chronic lower respiratory diseases combined are the third leading cause of death 8 in the USA. There are ~16 million people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the USA 4 and just under 25 million with asthma 5, accounting for $130 billion in direct and indirect costs annually for both COPD 6 and asthma 7. The current gaps in coding and reimbursement pose a particular problem for the remote treatment of respiratory disease. While this is a problem during COVID-19 because of the need for social distancing, it will persist after the pandemic as well. Without clarity on whether a technology qualifies for reimbursement, providers are less able to implement tools that could significantly benefit patient care, lower cost, and increase access for underserved populations. Four CPT ® codes now exist for the provision of “remote physiologic monitoring” services, but CMS has failed to define what it means by “physiologic”, causing providers and payers to question which technologies qualify for reimbursement.

In the past several years, CMS has created multiple Current Procedural Terminology (CPT ®) codes for remote monitoring services. Remote monitoring is related but distinct from telemedicine by definition and modality in that it involves the interpretation of medical information without a direct, synchronous interaction between the practitioner and beneficiary.ĭespite growing interest in the use of remote monitoring, ambiguity 2 around reimbursement is still creating barriers to adoption 3 and preventing the delivery of effective, socially distanced care for multiple conditions, which could exacerbate inequitable access to digital tools. With patients unable to see their providers in person, remote monitoring, telemedicine, telehealth, and virtual care saw a 20-fold increase in use 1, and reimbursement for these services became a focal point for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of remote monitoring dramatically.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, remote monitoring was gaining traction across several disease states, most notably heart disease, mental health, lung disease, and diabetes.

With remote monitoring, patients can self-manage their condition from home, and providers can leverage data on the patient’s condition to inform their clinical decision-making. Remote monitoring, which uses digital health technologies to monitor patient data from anywhere, allows patients and providers to manage the chronic disease without relying on in-person appointments. The use of remote monitoring to evaluate and manage patients with chronic illness has become even more important in the wake of COVID-19.

Clarify covid 19