March 6, 2023

Updated March 13, 2023

APMA participated in a multi-jurisdictional panel to examine coverage for Remote Physiologic Monitoring (RPM) and Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) on February 28. Following the meeting, APMA submitted formal comments on March 10, 2023. You can find our detailed comment letter here or by visiting www.apma.org/commentletters.

APMA has worked with our RPM Workgroup team since the meeting was announced in September 2022 to ensure podiatric physicians’ interests are well-represented. Mark Block, DPM; David Freedman, DPM; John Evans, DPM; and Paul Kesselman, DPM, all spoke at length during the two-hour Zoom conference.

The team shared information and consulted with subject matter experts (including APMA’s Clinical Practice Advisory Committee [CPAC]) and partners outside the profession to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the issues at hand. On behalf of the profession, APMA thanks the RPM Workgroup members for their time and commitment to preparing for and presenting at this meeting.

Following this meeting, participants were invited to submit additional formal comments. In the comment letter, APMA emphasized the following highlights:

• The existing literature demonstrates the value of RPM. For example, use of infrared thermometers and scheduled monitoring allows critical information to be accessed and identified by both the patient and clinician, potentially preventing negative outcomes associated with delays in identifying impending issues.
• The cost of implementing RPM is likely to improve patient outcomes and activities of daily living, while also leading to cost savings when compared to alternative treatments such as amputations.
• Remote temperature monitoring with more sophisticated devices has been shown to significantly reduce the incidence of plantar ulcerations in patients with neuropathy.

APMA also stressed that RPM is not considered to be a telehealth service and should not have the same barriers imposed on it. Podiatric physicians and other qualified health-care providers should have no undue barriers in offering RPM to their patients.

For more information, visit www.apma.org/cacpiac and www.apma.org/dme.

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