How RTM works with Joint Academy
Remote Therapeutic Monitoring, or RTM, is a Medicare billing framework used to support ongoing remote monitoring and management of a patient’s therapy outside of traditional in-person visits. In Joint Academy, RTM is designed to help clinics capture qualifying monitoring activity while reducing manual work for clinicians and billers.
For Joint Academy’s musculoskeletal workflow, RTM combines:
- patient setup and onboarding
- remote monitoring of therapy adherence and response
- clinician time spent managing the patient between visits
- automated logging and documentation support inside the platform
What RTM means in practice
In practical terms, RTM allows a clinic to bill for certain remote therapeutic monitoring activities when the billing requirements are met. In a Joint Academy workflow, that usually includes:
- inviting and onboarding the patient
- monitoring the patient’s treatment engagement and progress in the platform
- spending qualifying clinical time on patient management during the month
- having at least one qualifying interactive communication when required
- reviewing and signing the note that Joint Academy prepares
- passing the signed documentation to the biller for billing follow-up
RTM codes relevant to Joint Academy
For Joint Academy’s musculoskeletal use case, the main RTM codes are:
| RTM Code | Description |
| 98975 | Initial setup and patient education on use of the monitoring device or system. |
| 98977 | Device supply or data transmission for monitoring the musculoskeletal system, for 16 to 30 days in a 30-day period. |
| 98985 | Device supply or data transmission for monitoring the musculoskeletal system, for 2 to 15 days in a 30-day period. |
| 98979 | RTM treatment management services for the first 10 minutes in a calendar month, with at least one real-time interactive communication with the patient or caregiver during that month. |
| 98980 | RTM treatment management services for the first 20 minutes in a calendar month, with at least one interactive communication with the patient or caregiver during that month. |
| 98981 | RTM treatment management services for each additional 20 minutes beyond the primary management code in the calendar month. |
Important note on code selection
Which code is used depends on the payer, the number of monitored days, the amount of qualifying management time, and the clinic’s billing rules. Joint Academy supports the workflow, but the final billing decision still belongs to the clinic and biller.
How RTM works inside Joint Academy
1. The patient is invited into the RTM workflow
On the Invitations page, the clinician or clinic selects RTM as the treatment type when inviting the patient.
2. The patient is onboarded and begins treatment
Once enrolled, the patient starts engaging with treatment through Joint Academy. This creates the foundation for remote monitoring activity.
3. Joint Academy automatically logs qualifying time in the platform
Joint Academy is designed to automatically track RTM-related time and activity in the background, rather than requiring clinicians to manually time every action themselves.
This supports a more reliable workflow for clinics and reduces manual administrative work.
4. Clinicians review pending RTM activity as needed
The platform surfaces workflow items such as pending activity logs and documentation tasks so clinicians can review what still needs action.
5. Joint Academy automatically prepares documentation
Joint Academy creates the note documentation for the clinician, based on the activity captured in the platform.
6. The clinician reviews and signs the note
The clinician reviews the generated note and signs it when appropriate. This step is important because billing review should only happen after clinician sign-off.
7. The signed note moves to billing review
After signing, the note is available to the biller through the Billing workflow.
8. The biller reviews and processes the note
The biller can:
- preview the note
- accept it into the billing workflow
- disregard it when it should not proceed
- copy the approved information into the EMR
Where RTM shows up in the workflow
Depending on role, RTM-related work may appear in several places:
- Invitations: where the patient is invited under RTM
- Dashboard: where clinicians can see pending activity logs and note-signing tasks
- Patient Profile: where clinicians review the patient, treatment details, and medical notes
- Billing: where billers review signed notes and prepare them for EMR entry and billing
- Admin / Earnings: where clinics may review higher-level revenue and billing trends
Why Joint Academy’s RTM workflow is useful
Joint Academy’s RTM workflow is built to reduce manual work in several areas:
- time logging is automated inside the platform
- note creation is automated for clinician review and signature
- signed notes flow into a dedicated billing queue
- billers can review and prepare notes for EMR entry in one place
This makes the RTM process easier to operationalize at clinic level, especially when many patients are being monitored at the same time.
Tips
- Make sure the patient is invited under the correct treatment type from the start.
- Review pending activity logs and unsigned notes regularly so billing does not get delayed.
- Treat clinician signature as the handoff point between clinical work and billing work.
- Keep the clinic’s EMR entry process consistent so billers handle approved notes the same way each time.
- Confirm payer rules before billing, especially when time thresholds or day thresholds are close.
Common questions or notes
Does Joint Academy replace billing judgment?
No. Joint Academy supports time capture, documentation, and workflow, but the clinic and biller are still responsible for final billing review.
Does Joint Academy automatically create the note?
Yes. The workflow is designed so the platform prepares the documentation and the clinician reviews and signs it.
Where does the biller work?
The biller works from the Billing page, where signed notes can be previewed, accepted, or disregarded before being copied into the EMR.