CPT 98979: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Management with Interactive Communication

Medicare pays $27 on average nationally for this procedure.

CPT code 98979 describes management of treatment using remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) data, requiring at least one real-time interactive communication with the patient or caregiver during the month and at least 10 minutes of physician or qualified healthcare professional time; this is a remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) management service typically delivered as an outpatient or virtual/telehealth service and classified as a remote/virtual patient management activity rather than an in-person procedure.

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CPT 98979: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Management with Interactive Communication

Medicare pays $27 on average nationally for this procedure.

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Get alerted when payer policies referencing 98979 are released or updated.

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Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A 62-year-old patient with chronic low back pain secondary to lumbar degenerative disc disease is enrolled in a remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) program. The clinician configures an RTM platform to collect patient-reported pain scores, activity metrics, and device-recorded therapeutic home exercises. During the month the clinician reviews the RTM data, documents trend interpretation, adjusts the home exercise program, and conducts at least one real-time interactive communication (phone or video) with the patient that lasts sufficiently long to contribute to clinical management. The provider documents at least 10 minutes of physician or qualified healthcare professional time managing the RTM data and interacting with the patient, and bills the service as 98979 for that month. The typical workflow includes device/data setup, periodic remote monitoring of transmitted metrics, asynchronous review with documentation, and a synchronous encounter (telephonic or video) to modify treatment or reinforce adherence.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`98970`	Qualified health care professional online digital evaluation and management service, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, cumulative time during the 7 days; 5-10 minutes	May precede RTM management for brief digital follow-up or interim electronic assessment
`98975`	Initial setup and patient education on use of RTM device(s)	Performed when initiating remote therapeutic monitoring services and configuring devices prior to monthly management billed with `98979`
`98980`	Remote therapeutic monitoring treatment management services, first month; with device(s) supply and/or data transmission (20 minutes)	Alternative monthly RTM management code for a longer time threshold or first month; may be used in sequence depending on time and services
`99457`	Remote physiologic monitoring treatment management services, clinical staff/physician/other qualified healthcare professional time in a calendar month, requiring interactive communication with the patient/caregiver during the month; first 20 minutes	Related remote monitoring service for physiologic data; may be used for complementary monitoring when physiologic metrics are tracked alongside RTM

Related Modifiers

5 rows

Modifier	Description	When to Use
25	CPT modifier 25 indicates that on the same day as another procedure or service, the same physician or other qualified health care professional provided a significant, separately identifiable…	- When to apply: Use modifier 25 only on an E/M code to indicate the same provider delivered a significant, separately identifiable E/M service on the same day as another procedure or service — i.e.,…
59	Modifier 59 indicates a distinct procedural service when two procedures that are not normally billed together are clinically and procedurally separate. The CPT definition (as reiterated by CMS)…	- Use modifier -59 to report a distinct procedural service when documentation supports that the procedure reported is not normally billed together with another service on the same day because of a…
24	Modifier 24 denotes an unrelated evaluation and management (E/M) service performed by the same physician or qualified healthcare professional during a postoperative global period. Per CPT guidance,…	- Use modifier 24 when you report an evaluation and management (E/M) service performed by the same physician or same-specialty group during a procedure’s postoperative global period that is unrelated…
P3	Modifier P3 denotes that the anesthesia patient has severe systemic disease (ASA III). It applies only to anesthesia CPT codes (00100–01999) and must be appended by the anesthesia provider with…	- Applies only to anesthesia procedure codes (CPT 00100–01999) and should be appended by the anesthesia provider when the patient meets the definition of "severe systemic disease" (CPT/AAPC P3;…
90	Modifier ‑90 (Reference/Outside Laboratory) indicates that a laboratory test was performed by an entity other than the treating or reporting provider. The American Medical Association defines…	- Use CPT modifier -90 when a laboratory test is performed by an outside/reference laboratory (an entity other than the treating or reporting physician or qualified professional) and the claim needs…

Related Provider Taxonomies

8 rows

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
207Q00000X	Family Medicine Physician	Family Medicine is the medical specialty which is concerned with the total health care of the individual and the family. It is the specialty in breadt…
207R00000X	Internal Medicine Physician	A physician who provides long-term, comprehensive care in the office and the hospital, managing both common and complex illness of adolescents, adults…
208D00000X	General Practice Physician	A physician who specializes in the general practice of diagnosing, treating, and managing patients with a variety of illnesses and conditions.
2084P0800X	Psychiatry Physician	A Psychiatrist specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders, emotional disorders, psychotic disorders, mood disorders, …
163W00000X	Registered Nurse	(1) A registered nurse is a person qualified by graduation from an accredited nursing school (depending upon schooling, a registered nurse may receive…
261QM2500X	Medical Specialty Clinic/Center	An entity, facility, or distinct part of a facility providing diagnostic, treatment, and prescriptive services related to a specific area of medical s…
273R00000X	Psychiatric Hospital Unit	In general, a distinct unit of a hospital that provides acute or long-term care to emotionally disturbed patients, including patients admitted for dia…
163WX0002X	High-Risk Obstetric Registered Nurse	Nursing Service Providers · Registered Nurse

CPT 98980: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Management, Real‑time Communication

CPT-98981-REMOTE-THERAPEUTIC-MONITORING-MANAGEMENT-20-MIN-ADD-ON

CPT 98981: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Management, Additional 20 Min

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

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Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`98970`	Qualified health care professional online digital evaluation and management service, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, cumulative time during the 7 days; 5-10 minutes	May precede RTM management for brief digital follow-up or interim electronic assessment
`98975`	Initial setup and patient education on use of RTM device(s)	Performed when initiating remote therapeutic monitoring services and configuring devices prior to monthly management billed with `98979`
`98980`	Remote therapeutic monitoring treatment management services, first month; with device(s) supply and/or data transmission (20 minutes)	Alternative monthly RTM management code for a longer time threshold or first month; may be used in sequence depending on time and services
`99457`	Remote physiologic monitoring treatment management services, clinical staff/physician/other qualified healthcare professional time in a calendar month, requiring interactive communication with the patient/caregiver during the month; first 20 minutes	Related remote monitoring service for physiologic data; may be used for complementary monitoring when physiologic metrics are tracked alongside RTM

Related Modifiers

5 rows

Modifier	Description	When to Use
25	CPT modifier 25 indicates that on the same day as another procedure or service, the same physician or other qualified health care professional provided a significant, separately identifiable…	- When to apply: Use modifier 25 only on an E/M code to indicate the same provider delivered a significant, separately identifiable E/M service on the same day as another procedure or service — i.e.,…
59	Modifier 59 indicates a distinct procedural service when two procedures that are not normally billed together are clinically and procedurally separate. The CPT definition (as reiterated by CMS)…	- Use modifier -59 to report a distinct procedural service when documentation supports that the procedure reported is not normally billed together with another service on the same day because of a…
24	Modifier 24 denotes an unrelated evaluation and management (E/M) service performed by the same physician or qualified healthcare professional during a postoperative global period. Per CPT guidance,…	- Use modifier 24 when you report an evaluation and management (E/M) service performed by the same physician or same-specialty group during a procedure’s postoperative global period that is unrelated…
P3	Modifier P3 denotes that the anesthesia patient has severe systemic disease (ASA III). It applies only to anesthesia CPT codes (00100–01999) and must be appended by the anesthesia provider with…	- Applies only to anesthesia procedure codes (CPT 00100–01999) and should be appended by the anesthesia provider when the patient meets the definition of "severe systemic disease" (CPT/AAPC P3;…
90	Modifier ‑90 (Reference/Outside Laboratory) indicates that a laboratory test was performed by an entity other than the treating or reporting provider. The American Medical Association defines…	- Use CPT modifier -90 when a laboratory test is performed by an outside/reference laboratory (an entity other than the treating or reporting physician or qualified professional) and the claim needs…

Related Provider Taxonomies

8 rows

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
207Q00000X	Family Medicine Physician	Family Medicine is the medical specialty which is concerned with the total health care of the individual and the family. It is the specialty in breadt…
207R00000X	Internal Medicine Physician	A physician who provides long-term, comprehensive care in the office and the hospital, managing both common and complex illness of adolescents, adults…
208D00000X	General Practice Physician	A physician who specializes in the general practice of diagnosing, treating, and managing patients with a variety of illnesses and conditions.
2084P0800X	Psychiatry Physician	A Psychiatrist specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders, emotional disorders, psychotic disorders, mood disorders, …
163W00000X	Registered Nurse	(1) A registered nurse is a person qualified by graduation from an accredited nursing school (depending upon schooling, a registered nurse may receive…
261QM2500X	Medical Specialty Clinic/Center	An entity, facility, or distinct part of a facility providing diagnostic, treatment, and prescriptive services related to a specific area of medical s…
273R00000X	Psychiatric Hospital Unit	In general, a distinct unit of a hospital that provides acute or long-term care to emotionally disturbed patients, including patients admitted for dia…
163WX0002X	High-Risk Obstetric Registered Nurse	Nursing Service Providers · Registered Nurse

CPT 98980: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Management, Real‑time Communication

CPT-98981-REMOTE-THERAPEUTIC-MONITORING-MANAGEMENT-20-MIN-ADD-ON

CPT 98981: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Management, Additional 20 Min

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

Published by

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CPT 98979: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Management with Interactive Communication

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CPT 98979: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Management with Interactive Communication

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Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Related CPT Codes

Related Modifiers

Related Provider Taxonomies

Related Codes

References

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Related CPT Codes

Related Modifiers

Related Provider Taxonomies

Related Codes

References

CPT 98979: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Management with Interactive Communication

Sign up for cpt 98979 policy alerts

CPT 98979: Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Management with Interactive Communication

Sign up for cpt 98979 policy alerts

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Related CPT Codes

Related Modifiers

Related Provider Taxonomies

Related Codes

What clinical activities qualify for billing CPT 98979 in a month?

How much time must be documented to bill 98979?

Can 98979 be used alongside other remote monitoring CPT codes?

What diagnoses are commonly associated with using CPT 98979?

Which payers were noted as covering or included in the summary for this code?

References

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Related CPT Codes

Related Modifiers

Related Provider Taxonomies

Related Codes

What clinical activities qualify for billing CPT 98979 in a month?

How much time must be documented to bill 98979?

Can 98979 be used alongside other remote monitoring CPT codes?

What diagnoses are commonly associated with using CPT 98979?

Which payers were noted as covering or included in the summary for this code?

References