Practices that perform remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) will have the opportunity to collect for these services even if patients aren’t monitored for a full 30 days, thanks to CPT 2026. Five new codes will represent shorter time periods than in the past, and they go into effect on January 1^st.

Check out a few remote therapeutic monitoring changes so you can prepare before the calendar turns to 2026.

Three New Codes Cover Two to 15 Days of RTM

Reporting RTM services for periods less than a full month just got easier, thanks to these three new codes:

• 98984 — Remote therapeutic monitoring (eg, therapy adherence, therapy response, digital therapeutic intervention); device(s) supply for data access or data transmissions to support monitoring of respiratory system, 2-15 days in a 30-day period
• 98985 — … device(s) supply for data access or data transmissions to support monitoring of musculoskeletal system, 2-15 days in a 30-day period
• 99445 — … device(s) supply for data access or data transmissions to support monitoring of cognitive behavioral therapy, 2-15 days in a 30-day period

Here’s the difference: You’ll choose the code depending on the type of condition your provider is monitoring. For instance, if you’re monitoring the respiratory system, report 98984, and if you’re monitoring the musculoskeletal system, you’ll instead bill 98985. Providers performing RTM services for cognitive behavioral therapy will instead submit 99445.

Report each code just one time per month to cover the period that you monitored the patient. One submission of the code will cover all of the RTM services you cover for the month. In other words, if you report RTM for a cognitive behavioral therapy patient over the course of six days, report 99445 just once and not six times.

Check Two New Codes for up to 10 Minutes of RTM

While the codes above describe several days’ worth of remote therapeutic monitoring, you’d have to perform RTM for at least two days to justify those codes. If you perform shorter-term RTM, meaning for 10 minutes or more in a month, you can report one of the codes below:

• 98979 — Remote therapeutic monitoring treatment management services, physician/other qualified health care professional time in a calendar month requiring at least one real-time interactive communication with the patient/caregiver during the calendar month; first 10 minutes
• 99470 — Remote physiologic monitoring treatment management services, clinical staff/physician/other qualified health care professional time in a calendar month requiring one real-time interactive communication with the patient/caregiver during the calendar month; first 10 minutes

Here’s the difference: The first code, 98979, describes RTM for at least 10 minutes in a month and must be performed by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. However, 99470 refers to remote physiologic monitoring and doesn’t require a physician. Instead, a clinical staff member can perform it.