Expanded Program Benefits 62 Million Vulnerable Americans With Limited Access To Healthcare

Cellular remote patient monitoring^TM will be a reimbursable care service for Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics in 2024

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The final rule of the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) was recently released and includes expanded support for some of the most vulnerable and underserved Americans living in rural and urban communities with limited access to healthcare. One of the most impactful changes is that Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), which care for many of these Americans, can add remote patient monitoring (RPM) to their care management services as a reimbursable program. Starting January 1, 2024, FQHCs and RHCs will be eligible to bill for RPM under the general care management code G0511.

There are more than 15,000 FQHCs and RHCs in the country, serving over 62 million patients who have limited access to healthcare due to economic or geographic circumstances. Many of these vulnerable and underserved Americans suffer from chronic diseases, including hypertension and diabetes, and may have difficulty accessing healthcare services. Remote patient monitoring is proving to be an extremely useful service, especially cellular RPM^TM, when managing care for chronic condition patients.

In the 2023 National Diabetes Survey, 51 percent of respondents said they only see their healthcare professional twice a year or less and 86 percent said their physician recommends changes to their care plan based on their readings when they see them. But most of the time healthcare providers are making care plan decisions based on limited data, with some research suggesting that glucose logs are inaccurate or falsified up to 50 percent of the time.¹ Using cellular RPM^TM diabetes management would change that by transmitting a reading immediately to the provider’s electronic health record (EHR) system for tracking and review.

Sixty-two percent of participants in the survey said they would test more consistently knowing their results were being sent to their provider. And in the 2023 National Hypertension Survey, 53 percent said they would test more frequently if they knew their readings were being sent to their provider. In addition, 59 percent of hypertension patients and 70 percent of diabetes patients said they believe an RPM program would help them better manage their disease.

Healthcare professionals with FQHCs or RHCs who start using cellular RPM in 2024 would be providing their patients with an easy method for testing and ensuring the reading is transmitted immediately to the provider for review. And with the new CMS final rule, the FQHC or RHC would be reimbursed for collecting this data.

Patients are looking for easy ways for providers to help them improve their chronic conditions at home. With cellular-enabled RPM solutions from Smart Meter, providers are assured of getting the latest and most accurate data when a patient tests. This can help identify trends, prevent hospitalization, and improve outcomes.

“Patients who are served by FQHCs or RHCs typically have issues making regular visits to the clinics and have limited Wi-Fi access for Bluetooth^® RPM devices. It is much easier for a patient to use a cellular-enabled monitor because there is no synching, pairing or Wi-Fi needed,” said Dr. Bill Lewis, a member of the ClearHealth Quality Institute (CHQI) Telemedicine Standards and Medical Advisory Board and Chair of the Telemedicine Accreditation Committee. “Smart Meter’s iGlucose^® meters, iBloodPressure^® monitors, and other cellular RPM solutions transmit instantly through an exclusive AT&T private data network, so data is secure, accurate, and reliable every time.”

About Smart Meter, LLC

Smart Meter is the trusted supplier of Cellular Remote Patient Monitoring^TM (“RPM”) solutions. We empower a nationwide network of SmartPartners^TM who are working directly with healthcare providers to transform patient care. Millions of vital health data readings are reliably delivered across our platform to enable real-time, better-informed health care. Our proprietary patient-friendly cellular FDA-registered monitoring devices are connected to an exclusive AT&T 4/5G network to ensure an engaging patient experience for improved adherence. For more information, visit SmartMeterRPM.com

¹ Doctors Want To See Your Glucose Meter | Prevention