How Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Improves Patient Outcomes Compared to Traditional Methods

Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) represents a fundamental shift in how healthcare providers deliver care between office visits. Unlike traditional care models that rely on periodic check-ins and patient recall, RTM uses digital tools to gather patient-reported data—pain levels, medication adherence, exercise completion, mood, and functional status—allowing providers to monitor treatment adherence and intervene before small issues become serious complications.

RTM significantly improves clinical outcomes, reduces hospital readmissions, and increases patient adherence across multiple specialties. This article examines the data comparing RTM to traditional care methods and explains how healthcare practices can implement RTM programs effectively.

Quantifying RTM's Impact on Patient Outcomes

Hospital Readmissions Drop by Up to 80%

A University of Oklahoma study tracking patients receiving outpatient antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) found that RTM reduced infection-related readmissions dramatically compared to standard care:

• 74% reduction in 30-day readmissions (4.7% vs. 17.9%)

• 72% reduction in 60-day readmissions (7.8% vs. 28.4%)

• 56% reduction in 90-day readmissions (14.1% vs. 31.6%)

After adjusting for patient characteristics, the RTM group had 80% lower odds of readmission at 60 days. The median adherence rate to IV antibiotic infusions in the RTM group was 94%.

Traditional care for OPAT patients involves sending them home with antibiotics and hoping they follow the regimen correctly. Providers have no visibility into whether patients are taking medications on schedule or experiencing side effects until the next appointment—often weeks away. RTM closes this gap by collecting daily patient-reported data on medication administration, symptoms, and side effects, allowing clinical teams to identify problems immediately.

Musculoskeletal Outcomes Improve by 34%

A large-scale analysis compared 4,081 patients using RTM to 28,916 patients receiving traditional physical therapy. The RTM group showed statistically significant improvements:

• 34% improvement in Physical Function scores

• 33% improvement in Pain Interference scores

• 57% improvement in adherence (drop-off rate reduction)

Traditional physical therapy involves weekly or biweekly in-person sessions where therapists assess progress and adjust exercises. Between sessions, patients are on their own to complete home exercises. Adherence is often poor because patients forget instructions, don't understand proper form, or lose motivation.

RTM changes this dynamic. Actuvi gathers daily patient-reported data on pain levels, range of motion, exercise completion, and functional status using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Patients receive video demonstrations of prescribed exercises and daily reminders to complete them. Physical therapists can see which exercises patients are struggling with and provide guidance remotely.

A separate study featured in Healthcare IT News tracked nearly 55,000 patients using a digital care platform after joint replacement surgery. At one year post-surgery, 82% of hip patients and 74% of knee patients met their respective MCID (Minimal Clinically Important Difference) thresholds for clinically significant improvement.

Chronic Pain Intensity Decreases Significantly

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in Pain Reports examined mobile health interventions for chronic low back pain. Patients using RTM showed significant improvements:

• Pain intensity reduction: Mean difference of -1.11 on pain scales

• Disability reduction: Mean difference of -6.59 on the Oswestry Disability Index

Traditional pain management involves monthly or quarterly clinic visits where patients recall their pain levels from memory. This retrospective reporting is notoriously inaccurate. Patients often can't remember pain patterns from weeks ago, and they tend to report only their current pain level or their worst episode.

RTM platforms allow patients to log pain intensity, location, and quality in real-time throughout the day. Actuvi collects this pain data along with contextual factors like activity levels, medication timing, and mood. Providers can see actual pain patterns over weeks and months, not just a patient's recollection during a 15-minute appointment.

Treatment Retention Doubles for Behavioral Health

For patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), maintaining engagement with treatment is critical. A study cited by HIT Consultant found that patients using digital health and RTM had nearly twice the retention in buprenorphine treatment compared to those receiving only traditional in-person care:

• Average time in care with RTM: 6.8 months

• Average time in care without RTM: 3.7 months

Traditional OUD treatment requires patients to travel to a clinic regularly for medication and counseling. Many patients face transportation barriers, work conflicts, or stigma that prevent consistent attendance. When patients miss appointments, they often disengage from treatment entirely.

RTM provides daily touchpoints between clinic visits. Patients complete brief check-ins about cravings, medication adherence, and withdrawal symptoms. Providers can identify patients at risk of relapse and intervene proactively rather than waiting for a missed appointment or emergency department visit. Actuvi is designed specifically to support behavioral health clinics with these engagement tools.

Physical Therapy Adherence Improves Dramatically

Research on telehealth and remote exercise monitoring found that RTM leads to improved patient engagement and adherence to exercise programs. A study on veterans found that adherence was better for those using remote monitoring than for those receiving only telephone check-ins.

A randomized control trial comparing digital remote physical therapy to in-person outpatient physical therapy for post-operative total knee arthroplasty patients found no significant differences in function, pain outcomes, or patient satisfaction. Patients in the RTM group achieved the same outcomes without the additional expenses or travel time required for in-person visits.

Rheumatology Disease Activity Decreases

A study published in PMC found that RTM for stable rheumatoid arthritis patients was associated with lower disease activity and fewer consultations compared to standard care. The use of electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs) provides a more comprehensive view of disease activity, flares, and treatment adherence between office visits.

Traditional rheumatology care involves quarterly visits where patients report symptoms from memory. Flares that occur between visits often go undocumented, and providers make treatment decisions based on incomplete information.

RTM enables patients to report joint pain, stiffness, fatigue, and medication side effects daily. When disease activity increases, the care team receives an alert and can adjust treatment before the patient experiences a full flare requiring emergency care or hospitalization.

RTM vs. Traditional Care

Improved Outcomes Across Specialties

Orthopedics: Improving Post-Surgical Recovery

Traditional post-surgical care involves a few follow-up appointments where the surgeon assesses range of motion and asks about pain. Patients are given physical therapy exercises to complete at home, but adherence is often poor because patients forget the instructions or don't understand proper form.

Actuvi gathers patient-reported data on pain levels, range of motion, exercise completion, and functional status. Patients receive video demonstrations of their prescribed exercises and daily reminders to complete them. Physical therapists can see which exercises patients are struggling with and provide guidance remotely.

A study on post-operative knee and hip replacement patients using an application that rewarded increases in step count with digital badges found that this gamification approach decreased the risk of rehospitalization.

Physical Therapy: Closing the Adherence Gap

Remote rehabilitation programs use mobile apps to provide patients with tailored home exercise programs. Therapists monitor patients' self-reported pain and function, as well as their progress with exercises, allowing for timely adjustments to the care plan.

Traditional physical therapy relies on patients remembering to do exercises at home and accurately reporting their adherence during the next session. Most patients overestimate their adherence, and therapists have no way to verify completion.

RTM platforms track exercise completion in real-time. Patients log each exercise session, report difficulty levels, and note any pain or problems. Therapists can see exactly which exercises are being completed and which are being skipped, allowing them to modify the program or provide additional instruction.

Pain Management: Capturing Real-Time Pain Patterns

Traditional pain management involves monthly or quarterly clinic visits where patients recall their pain levels from memory. This retrospective reporting is notoriously inaccurate.

RTM platforms allow patients to log pain intensity, location, and quality in real-time throughout the day. Actuvi collects this pain data along with medication timing, activity levels, and sleep quality. Providers can see actual pain patterns over weeks and months, identify triggers, and adjust treatment plans based on objective data rather than patient recall.

Behavioral Health: Maintaining Engagement

For mental health and substance use disorder treatment, the period between appointments is when patients are most vulnerable to relapse. Traditional care provides weekly or biweekly therapy sessions, but patients have no support structure during the other days of the week.

RTM provides daily touchpoints. Patients complete brief check-ins about mood, anxiety, sleep, cravings, and medication adherence. Actuvi's Guardian Access feature allows a designated family member or caregiver to enter data on behalf of patients who cannot use the app themselves—critical for elderly patients or those in acute crisis.

Therapists can identify patients whose symptoms are worsening and schedule additional sessions or adjust treatment plans. For substance use disorder, daily check-ins help patients stay accountable and provide early warning signs of relapse risk. Learn more about how to launch a digital mental health clinic.

Rheumatology: Tracking Disease Activity Between Visits

Traditional rheumatology care involves quarterly visits where patients report symptoms from memory. Flares that occur between visits often go undocumented.

RTM enables patients to report joint pain, stiffness, fatigue, and medication side effects daily. The PMC study on rheumatology RTM found that digital platforms enable patients to track their disease and participate in RTM programs, leading to lower disease activity and fewer consultations compared to standard care.

Implementing an RTM Program

Platform Selection

Choose an RTM platform that integrates with your existing EHR system. Actuvi's mobile app meets FDA regulations for software as a medical device (SaMD) and connects to EHR and EMR platforms, allowing patient-reported data to flow directly into the clinical record without manual data entry.

Actuvi creates custom assessments for specialty-specific data collection—pain scales, range of motion, mood assessments, exercise logs, and functional status tracking.

Clinical Workflow Design

Actuvi RTM does not replace office visits. It fits into your existing care pathways by providing patient-reported data between appointments.

Designate a care team member to review RTM data daily. Actuvi creates custom alert thresholds for each patient based on your clinical protocols. Staff only review alerts that require attention, not every data point from every patient.

For a typical practice, reviewing Actuvi RTM alerts takes 20 minutes per 100 patients per day. This time is reimbursable under RTM CPT codes. Learn how to build a successful digital monitoring program.

Patient Enrollment and Onboarding

Actuvi helps identify patients who will benefit most from RTM based on your practice's patient population and clinical goals.

Actuvi's implementation process takes three weeks. During the first week, your staff receives training on the platform and clinical workflows. During weeks two and three, you begin enrolling patients in cohorts, starting with a pilot group to refine your processes.

Patients receive a brief orientation (typically 10-15 minutes) explaining how to use the app, what data to report, and what to expect from the care team. Actuvi provides patient education materials and video tutorials.

Billing and Reimbursement

RTM is reimbursed through four CPT codes:

• 98975: Initial setup and patient education (20 minutes)

• 98976/7/8: Device supply with daily recording and data transmission

• 98980: First 20 minutes of clinical staff time reviewing data and communicating with patients each month

• 98981: Each additional 20 minutes of clinical staff time

A practice can generate approximately $180 per patient per month through RTM billing. Physical therapy practices have reported generating an additional $70,000 per month after implementing RTM programs.

RTM codes require 16 days of data collection per month. Actuvi automatically tracks this requirement and alerts staff when patients are eligible for billing. For more details, see our guide on the most widely used CPT codes in digital health.

Addressing the Challenges and Risks of RTM

Patient Compliance

Patient compliance is the single biggest challenge in RTM programs. If patients don't consistently report data, providers can't bill for RTM services, and the clinical benefits disappear. Most RTM platforms struggle with patient engagement, leading to high drop-off rates and failed programs.

Actuvi solves this through an omnichannel approach that ensures maximum compliance:

Gamification: Actuvi's patient mobile app uses gamification to psychologically motivate patients to complete their daily check-ins. Patients earn badges, track streaks, and see visual progress indicators that tap into intrinsic motivation. This transforms data reporting from a chore into an engaging activity that patients want to complete.

Reminders and Notifications: Actuvi sends daily reminders through push notifications and in-app alerts. Patients receive gentle prompts to complete their check-ins without feeling overwhelmed.

Actuvi AI Agent: For non-compliant or minimally compliant patients, Actuvi's AI Agent engages them where they already are—through text messaging and WhatsApp—to get them back to the app. The AI Agent can deliver assessments directly in these channels, allowing patients to respond via text. The AI Agent automatically charts their responses on the provider's platform for review.

This omnichannel strategy ensures maximum compliance for Actuvi's clients. Patient compliance determines digital care program success, so Actuvi's approach keeps patients engaged throughout their treatment journey.

Patient Access and Digital Literacy

Not all patients have smartphones or feel comfortable using health apps. Actuvi addresses this through the Guardian Access feature, which allows a family member or caregiver to enter data on the patient's behalf. This extends RTM to elderly patients, pediatric patients, and those with cognitive impairments.

Data Security and Privacy

RTM platforms collect sensitive health information, making data security critical. Actuvi is HIPAA-compliant and uses encryption for data transmission and storage.

Patients must provide informed consent before enrollment, and they can withdraw from RTM programs at any time. Learn more about keeping digital healthcare data secure.

Alert Fatigue

Poorly configured RTM systems can overwhelm clinical staff with excessive alerts. Actuvi addresses this by configuring custom alert thresholds for each patient based on their individual treatment plan. The system learns from staff responses and adjusts alert sensitivity over time.

The Future of RTM in Value-Based Care

Healthcare is shifting from volume-based to value-based reimbursement models that reward outcomes rather than the number of services provided. In this environment, RTM becomes essential infrastructure.

RTM on Actuvi allows providers to manage larger patient panels without increasing office visits. Primary care physicians can monitor patients with chronic conditions through RTM while maintaining the same appointment schedule. When patients need in-person care, the provider already has weeks or months of patient-reported data showing symptom trends and treatment adherence.

For health systems, Actuvi RTM reduces costly readmissions and emergency department visits. The University of Oklahoma study showed that RTM reduced 60-day readmissions by 72% for OPAT patients. For a hospital facing readmission penalties under Medicare's Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, this represents significant financial protection.

RTM also supports population health management by identifying high-risk patients before they experience acute events. Actuvi's analytics dashboard shows which patients have declining adherence, worsening symptoms, or missed data submissions. Care managers can prioritize outreach to these patients, preventing complications before they require hospitalization. Learn how Actuvi supercharges value-based care.

Next Steps

Remote Therapeutic Monitoring improves patient outcomes compared to traditional care methods by providing patient-reported data collection, proactive intervention, and daily patient engagement. Research shows significant reductions in hospital readmissions (up to 80%), improvements in functional status (34% improvement), pain reduction (33% improvement), and increased treatment adherence (57% improvement in physical therapy adherence) across multiple specialties.

Traditional care models rely on periodic office visits and patient recall, leaving providers with minimal visibility into patient behavior between appointments. RTM closes this gap by gathering patient-reported data daily—pain levels, medication adherence, exercise completion, mood, and functional status—and alerting care teams when intervention is needed.

Actuvi's mobile app meets FDA regulations for software as a medical device (SaMD) and integrates with existing EHR systems. Implementation takes three weeks, and the platform generates up to $180 per patient per month in reimbursement revenue while improving clinical outcomes and reducing readmissions.

Actuvi helps healthcare practices with patient selection, designs efficient clinical workflows, and configures alert thresholds for each patient. The combination of improved outcomes and reimbursement revenue makes RTM financially sustainable for most practices.

As healthcare continues shifting toward value-based care models, RTM will become standard infrastructure for managing chronic conditions, supporting post-acute care, and preventing costly complications.

Learn more about implementing RTM in your practice ↓ actuvi.com/products/remote-therapeutic-monitoring