RTM Use Cases: How Clinics Across Specialties Are Improving Patient Outcomes and Reimbursement
Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) allows clinics to collect and monitor patient-reported, non-physiological data between visits, including, but not limited to, pain levels, exercise completion, shortness of breath, mood scores, and therapy adherence.
It is a CMS-reimbursable program allowing clinics to generate up to $180 per patient per month while maintaining visibility into patient progress beyond the clinic. RTM is highly adaptable and can be deployed across dozens of medical specialties.
Here is how different specialties are using it.
Note - The use cases below are examples. Actuvi builds and launches every RTM program based on the clinic's patient population, clinical goals, and workflows. We configure assessments, monitoring tracks, alert thresholds, and everything else around the clinic’s care pathways.
Orthopedic surgery and post-operative recovery
Orthopedic surgeons use RTM to track recovery following procedures like joint replacements, spinal surgeries, or rotator cuff repairs. Patients log pain levels, mobility progress, and therapy adherence through Actuvi’s RTM platform. Providers receive the data between visits, enabling them to adjust therapy plans and catch complications early.
• Monitors post-op mobility and pain levels remotely without requiring in-person visits.
• Tracks adherence to prescribed rehabilitation programs.
• Reduced readmissions by catching early signs of surgical complications through configurable alert thresholds.
• Closer monitoring of opioid use during the recovery phase.
• Patients can submit photos or videos of range of motion through rich media assessments, giving surgeons a visual record of recovery progress.
Physical and occupational therapy
Therapists use RTM to monitor adherence to home exercise programs and the functional status of patients in musculoskeletal therapy. Instead of relying on a patient’s memory during the next session, therapists can see daily logs showing exactly which exercises were completed and how much difficulty the patient reported.
• Provides objective logs of completed exercises and patient-reported difficulty levels.
• Therapists can adjust treatment plans remotely based on patient progress between sessions.
• Patients can submit video logs of their exercises, giving therapists a visual reference alongside the reported data.
• Tracks functional status changes over weeks, giving therapists data to justify continued treatment to payers.
• Reduces drop-off rates by maintaining consistent patient engagement between weekly sessions.
• PTAs and COTAs can contribute to RTM treatment management under general supervision using CQ and CO billing modifiers.
Pain management
Pain specialists use RTM to monitor how patients respond to prescribed therapies, whether that is physical therapy, medications, or alternative treatments. Patients track pain scores and activity levels daily, giving clinicians longitudinal data that is far more reliable than asking a patient to recall how they felt two weeks ago.
• Captures pain scores over weeks and months, providing objective data clinicians can use to adjust treatment plans.
• Daily activity level tracking correlates pain with movement patterns, helping clinicians identify what triggers flare-ups.
• Closer monitoring of opioid use and dependency risks alongside pain scores.
• Medication adherence tracking shows whether patients are following their prescribed protocol between visits.
• Increases patient accountability for home-based therapy programs.
Behavioral and mental health
Therapists and mental health professionals use RTM to track daily mood, sleep quality, anxiety and depression levels between sessions. For patients with substance use disorders, the program provides daily touchpoints to report cravings or withdrawal symptoms. When combined with digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) tools, RTM gives clinicians an expanded view of patient wellness between appointments.
• Tracks daily mood, sleep quality, anxiety and depression markers between sessions.
• Provides daily touchpoints for patients with substance use disorders or severe depression, enabling early detection of relapse risk.
• Standardized assessments like PHQ-9 and GAD-7 can be delivered through the platform on scheduled cadences.
• Programs using daily RTM touchpoints have doubled treatment retention rates for conditions like opioid use disorder.
• Multiple brief interactions with patients between appointments give clinicians data-driven insights to tailor treatments.
Oncology
Oncologists use RTM to monitor treatment side effects, track symptoms, manage medication adherence, and provide supportive care during and after chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy.
• Daily tracking of pain scores, nausea levels, and fatigue levels during and after treatment cycles.
• Medication adherence tracking for oral chemotherapy and supportive medications.
• Depression and anxiety screening through daily mood scores, catching mental health changes early in the treatment process.
• Weekly quality of life surveys and weight change tracking give clinicians a fuller picture of how treatment is affecting the patient.
• Symptom alerts notify the care team when readings exceed thresholds, allowing intervention before a situation requires an ER visit.
• Patients can securely message their oncology nurse or care team with concerns directly through the app.
Cardiology and post-cardiac rehabilitation
Cardiology care appointments are typically covered under RPM. But RTM applies to the rehabilitation and behavioral side of cardiac recovery. After a cardiac event, patients are prescribed functional activities and exercises they must perform at home, along with lifestyle changes and medication schedules. RTM allows cardiologists and cardiac rehabilitation staff to confirm that their patients are following through.
• Monitors adherence to prescribed cardiac rehabilitation exercises.
• Tracks perceived exertion and daily fatigue levels following surgery.
• Detects early reports of physical problems like fatigue or chest discomfort between visits.
• Confirms patients are following lifestyle modification plans and medication schedules.
• The care team can adjust recovery plans based on specific activity and fatigue data coming from the patient.
Pulmonology and pulmonary rehab
Pulmonologists treating patients with asthma, COPD, or long COVID use RTM to measure breathlessness, cough frequency, and inhaler adherence, while tracking environmental triggers as a source of actionable data.
• Measures shortness of breath and cough frequency daily.
• Monitors inhaler adherence and helps identify patients misusing their inhalers so the care team can step in with targeted education.
• Daily symptom tracking allows clinicians to spot patterns before they escalate into acute exacerbations.
• Patients can report environmental triggers like smoke exposure, weather changes, or allergens alongside their symptoms.
• Informs medication titration decisions based on symptom and trigger data.
Rheumatology
Patients with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis log joint stiffness, fatigue, and medication side effects daily. When disease activity increases, the care team receives an alert through the platform.
• Captures daily data on joint stiffness, fatigue, and medication side effects.
• Morning stiffness duration tracking, which is a key clinical indicator for disease activity, can be logged daily.
• Catches early signs of flares before they become severe.
• Medication side effect data helps rheumatologists evaluate whether to continue, adjust, or switch biologics.
• Reduces the frequency of unnecessary routine consultations by giving clinicians a continuous view of disease activity between quarterly visits.
Wound care
Wound care specialists use RTM to monitor healing progress, track dressing change compliance, and catch early signs of infection between clinic visits.
• Patients can submit photos of wound healing progress through rich media assessments, giving clinicians a visual timeline of recovery.
• Daily pain and symptom reporting at the wound site tracks whether healing is on schedule.
• Dressing change compliance and medication adherence are tracked so the care team knows whether the patient is following their wound care protocol.
• Signs of infection like redness, swelling, or drainage are flagged through configurable alert thresholds.
• Reduces the need for frequent in-person wound checks during stable healing phases.
Neurology and post-stroke rehabilitation
Neurologists and rehabilitation specialists track patient progress through physical, occupational, and speech therapy. RTM shows whether patients are completing their prescribed exercises and cognitive tasks.
• Monitors adherence to physical, occupational, and speech therapy tasks.
• Tracks recovery milestones for stroke survivors, including mobility and speech gains over time.
• Cognitive task completion tracking for patients with traumatic brain injury or post-stroke cognitive rehabilitation.
• Identifies plateaus in recovery or signs of patient frustration, allowing providers to adjust therapy goals remotely.
• Allows for frequent adjustment of therapy goals without requiring an in-person visit.
Geriatric care and functional therapy
Geriatricians monitor functional decline in older adults dealing with frailty, arthritis, or recovering from a fall. RTM data on activities of daily living (ADLs) and therapy adherence allows the care team to catch signs of decline early.
• Monitors activities of daily living (ADLs) with daily digital touchpoints.
• Tracks therapy adherence for older adults recovering from falls.
• Helps prevent avoidable hospitalizations through early intervention when functional scores decline.
• Provides reassurance to caregivers and family members that their loved one’s health is being monitored between visits.
• Guardian Access allows family members or caregivers to submit data on behalf of patients who cannot use a smartphone independently.
Obstetrics and maternal health
OB-GYNs and midwives use RTM during prenatal care and postpartum recovery to track symptoms like pain, mobility, and medication adherence.
• Tracks pain, mobility, and medication adherence during high-risk pregnancies.
• Screens for early signs of postpartum depression through daily mood and symptom check-ins.
• Medication adherence tracking for conditions like gestational diabetes or preeclampsia management.
• Expands postpartum management without requiring additional in-person visits.
• Daily symptom logging throughout the postpartum period helps clinicians intervene before symptoms worsen.
Endocrinology and diabetes management
Glycemic data is typically collected through RPM. RTM applies to the behavioral factors of diabetes management. Patients log dietary adherence, physical activity, and compliance with oral medications.
• Tracks compliance with lifestyle therapy delivery apart from glycemic levels.
• Monitors dietary adherence and physical activity levels between visits.
• Provides context for glucose readings by logging compliance with oral medications.
• When a patient’s numbers shift, the care team can see whether the cause is a lifestyle change or a medication issue and respond with targeted education.
• Weight tracking and physical activity logging help clinicians see the full behavioral picture alongside lab results.
Sleep apnea management
Although sleep data can be collected with RPM, RTM provides value with therapy engagement: CPAP machine usage, treatment adherence, sleep hygiene behaviors, and patient-reported levels of daily fatigue.
• Identifies which patients are using their CPAP consistently and which are falling off.
• Tracks patient-reported levels of daytime fatigue.
• Sleep hygiene behavior tracking, including caffeine intake, screen time, and bedtime routine consistency.
• Correlating CPAP compliance data with patient-reported fatigue levels helps clinicians identify whether device settings need adjustment.
• Supports behavioral interventions that go beyond the device itself.
Sports medicine and athletic recovery
Sports medicine providers use RTM to manage injury recovery, therapy adherence, and pain response after procedures like ACL repairs or the conservative management of tendinopathy.
• Athletes log daily pain and activity data, allowing the care team to adjust rehabilitation protocols based on how recovery is progressing.
• Return-to-play protocol adherence tracking confirms athletes are following staged recovery guidelines.
• Perceived exertion and pain response data after each training session helps guide the timeline for increasing intensity.
• Reduces unnecessary in-clinic visits during stable recovery phases.
• Keeps athletes engaged with their prescribed therapy between appointments.
Launching Your RTM program
Actuvi builds and launches RTM programs for health organizations of all sizes across all specialties.
Designing the program
Actuvi builds the RTM program and organization on the platform based on the target patient population, clinical goals, and alert thresholds. The platform provides assessment templates with the option to create custom assessments to match specific care pathways. Every element of the program, from assessments and monitoring tracks to alert thresholds and escalation workflows, is configured to match how the clinic operates. Actuvi guides the team in creating patient monitoring tracks and assessments and trains admin, staff, and billing teams on using the platform and managing alerts.
Launching the program
Providers introduce the program and create patients on the Actuvi platform in bulk or one at a time. Actuvi handles sending download instructions to patients, who then download the app and create their credentials. The patient app delivers assessment reminders, notifications, and tracks all responses.
Actuvi’s AI Agent texts non-compliant patients and documents all patient communication with timestamps. Staff receive alerts to manage monitoring and escalations. Every minute that staff spends on the platform monitoring a patient is tracked, and the platform automatically generates billing reports with the appropriate CPT codes.
Ongoing optimization
Actuvi provides continued support as the RTM program evolves. Providers can edit or add new assessments on the platform, modify monitoring tracks for any patient if needed, and adjust workflows based on evolving clinical needs. Actuvi provides weekly program reports to help clinics track performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
Every RTM program launched on Actuvi includes built-in guardrails that prevent fraud, overbilling, and miscalculation of monitoring time. Actuvi is HIPAA compliant, ensuring patient data is always protected.
The Actuvi platform is listed with the FDA, meeting all requirements for Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) and has been awarded the Best Remote Therapeutic Monitoring Platform for two years in a row.
Schedule a demo to see how Actuvi will launch an RTM program for your clinic and patient population.
