Answers to the RTM questions physical therapy clinics ask most

RTM is a set of CPT codes that pays for monitoring and managing a patient’s therapy between visits.

In physical therapy it usually means tracking home exercise adherence, pain and function through an app, while a clinician reviews the data, adjusts the plan and talks with the patient. Medicare and many other payers reimburse it as a defined service with its own thresholds and documentation.

RPM tracks physiologic data such as blood pressure, weight or glucose, while RTM tracks therapy adherence, therapy response and musculoskeletal status.

RTM data can be reported by the patient through software, which RPM doesn’t allow, and physical and occupational therapists can bill RTM under their own NPI. RPM is billed by physicians and other qualified practitioners.

Not for the same monitoring in the same period, so choose the service that matches what you’re monitoring.

For musculoskeletal rehab, that’s RTM.

Yes. CMS requires the RTM device to meet the FDA’s definition of a medical device, and software can meet that definition.

Because RTM allows self-reported data, an app on the patient’s own phone is the standard way PT clinics deliver it.

Patients with a meaningful home program who benefit from accountability and follow-up between visits.

That often includes post-op patients, patients with persistent pain or mobility limits, and anyone whose progress depends on consistent work outside the clinic. They need a smartphone and a willingness to use it.

Medicare patients owe the usual Part B coinsurance, typically 20 percent after the deductible, unless secondary coverage picks it up.

Explain this when you get the patient’s consent so there are no surprises on the statement.

RTM pays per patient, so it scales with your caseload rather than the size of your clinic.

One fully engaged Medicare patient supports $338.36 over a three-month episode at 2026 national rates, and you can start with a handful of patients on a single therapist’s caseload.

Time spent managing the patient’s therapy based on their monitoring data.

That includes reviewing adherence and response, deciding whether the plan needs to change, updating the home program, communicating with the patient or caregiver and documenting those decisions. Time counted toward RTM can’t also be counted toward another billed service.

A live, two-way conversation with the patient or caregiver, in person or by phone, and video works too.

An asynchronous message or an app notification doesn’t meet the requirement for 98979, 98980 or 98981.

Not for the real-time requirement.

Messages are still valuable and stay in the patient’s record, but each month needs at least one live interaction to support the management codes.

Yes, time spent on the interaction counts toward management time.

The exception is time already counted toward another billed service, such as the treatment portion of a visit.

CPT doesn’t require a change every month, but treatment management means managing the plan.

A documented review each month, with a program change when it’s warranted, shows the work the codes pay for. Orva tracks plan updates next to the other monthly requirements.

As it happens, not reconstructed at month-end.

Orva captures days of data and management time automatically, and your clinicians log their real-time interactions in Orva, so the month is already assembled when it closes.

Each code needs its own support in the record.

For 98975, document setup and education. For 98985 and 98977, document the days of data in the 30-day period. For 98979, 98980 and 98981, document total time, the management work performed and the date of the real-time interaction. A strong record shows what happened, when it happened and why it mattered clinically.

Yes. Get the patient’s consent before starting and document it, including that coinsurance may apply.

Most denials trace back to a threshold that wasn’t met, documentation that doesn’t support the code, or payer rules the clinic didn’t check.

Missing therapy modifiers and billing two codes from the same tier in one period are other common causes.

Enrolling patients without a follow-up process, mixing up the 2 to 15 day and 16 to 30 day tiers, logging time late, forgetting the live interaction and assuming every payer handles RTM the same way.

Bill only what the month shows.

Track thresholds as they happen, document the clinical decisions and the live interaction, and confirm payer policies before you bill. Orva shows which codes each patient has met in the current period, with the supporting detail, so your biller reviews a summary instead of rebuilding it.

Orva operates as a business associate and signs a Business Associate Agreement with each clinic.

Protected health information is handled under that agreement, and the BAA is available for your counsel to review before you enroll a patient.

Orva captures days of data and management time automatically and shows where each patient stands in the current period.

Your clinicians log their real-time interactions, and Orva shows which codes each patient has met, which are still open and how many days are left, while there’s still time to act.

Yes. Orva tracks 98975, 98985, 98977, 98979, 98980 and 98981, including both billing clocks.

Your team. Orva is software your therapists run, so the clinical work stays with the people already treating the patient.

That’s Real RTM, delivered by your own therapists.

Yes. Orva runs alongside your EMR and covers the time between visits, and the information your team needs is transferred from Orva to your EMR.

Orva clinics run on WebPT, Prompt, Athelas, HelloNote, Stride, TheraOffice and more.

It’s the 2020s, not the 1970s. Your patients run their money, travel and prescriptions from their phones, and Orva is a consumer-grade app built to that standard.

In a randomized trial, people with musculoskeletal conditions stuck to their home programs better on an app with remote support than on paper handouts. The best test is your own caseload.

Home exercise programs, outcome measures and messaging, all in the same patient app. See home exercise programs and patient-reported outcomes.

Sign up for the 7-day free trial, with no credit card required.

After your account is approved, you can explore Orva with a demo patient and see the app from your patient’s side before you enroll a real one.

Yes, and it’s the recommended way to start. Run it on one caseload, see what adherence and month-end look like, then expand.

Our pricing is based on results. The fastest way to see whether Orva fits your clinic is the 7-day free trial.