CMS has proposed changes that could significantly affect how remote patient monitoring (RPM) and remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) services are staffed and delivered.
CoachCare is working alongside healthcare providers, industry organizations, and policy stakeholders to advocate for standards that strengthen clinical accountability while preserving patient access and practice flexibility.
This guide brings together educational materials and audience perspectives related to the proposed 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
This is a proposed rule, not a final policy.
Current Medicare RPM and RTM services remain in effect, and CoachCare-supported programs continue operating under existing requirements while CMS reviews public comments and continues the federal rulemaking process.
Featured Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to the most common questions about the proposed rule, what it means today, and what healthcare organizations should expect moving forward.
Understanding CMS’s Proposed Changes to Remote Patient Monitoring
Download CoachCare’s overview of the proposed policy, potential operational impacts, and recommended actions for healthcare organizations.
National Advocacy Resources
Explore additional advocacy resources, educational materials, and opportunities to stay engaged with organizations working to protect patient access to remote monitoring.
Advocacy Resources by Audience
Every stakeholder experiences remote patient monitoring differently. The perspectives below address how the proposed 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule could affect physicians, care teams, healthcare organizations, patients, and caregivers.
FOR PHYSICIANS
Physician Perspective Guide
The Clinical Impact of Remote Monitoring
Physicians see firsthand how remote patient monitoring supports care between office visits. The proposed changes could affect clinical decision-making, continuity of care, physician capacity, and patient outcomes.
The proposed 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is not final.
How You Use Remote Monitoring
Key aspects of clinical use include:
- Why you prescribe or recommend remote monitoring
- Which patients benefit most
- How RPM supports care between office visits
- How it helps identify clinical deterioration earlier
- How it informs medication adjustments or treatment decisions
- How it affects communication with patients and caregivers
The Role of the Care Team
Team-based care supports your clinical oversight through:
- The role of nurses, care managers, pharmacists, and other qualified clinical staff
- How your extended care team reviews patient data and escalates concerns
- How delegated clinical support helps you focus on higher-level decision-making
Employment status alone does not determine clinical quality or accountability. Appropriate supervision, documented workflows, and timely escalation protect patients.
Potential Clinical Impact
The proposed changes could affect:
- Early intervention
- Medication optimization
- Continuity of care
- Physician capacity
- Patient engagement
- Response times
- Hospital and emergency department utilization
- Access for rural, underserved, and high-risk patients
Program Sustainability
The proposal may affect both how RPM programs are staffed and whether reimbursement remains sufficient to support responsible care delivery.
Key questions include:
- Whether your practice could absorb new staffing requirements
- How workforce shortages could affect implementation
- Whether reduced reimbursement would support the clinical resources required
- Whether your organization might need to limit enrollment or discontinue services
- How those decisions would affect patients currently benefiting from RPM
Constructive Recommendations
Potential areas for strengthening program integrity without reducing access to legitimate remote monitoring services include:
- Appropriate physician or qualified-practitioner oversight
- Clear clinical accountability
- Documented escalation protocols
- Qualified clinical personnel
- Transparent billing and documentation
- Evidence-based safeguards targeted at abusive programs
- Flexibility for responsible team-based and third-party-supported care models
FOR PHYSICIAN PRACTICES & PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS
Practice & Care Team Guide
How Remote Monitoring Works in the Real World
The proposed 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule could significantly affect how physician practices and provider organizations deliver remote patient monitoring (RPM) services.
The proposed staffing and reimbursement changes could affect patient care, workforce needs, physician capacity, and long-term program sustainability.
Every organization is different.
Your Organization
The organizational context includes who you serve and the scale of your remote monitoring program:
- Medical specialties
- Number of providers and locations
- Approximate number of active RPM patients
- Medicare patient population
- Rural or underserved communities served
- High-risk or chronic disease populations
- Geographic footprint
- Average monthly enrollment, if relevant
Your Current Care Model
Key aspects of how your remote monitoring program operates today include:
- How the RPM program is staffed
- The roles of physicians, nurses, care managers, pharmacists, and other qualified clinical professionals
- How patient information is reviewed
- How often patients are contacted
- How concerns are escalated to physicians or other qualified practitioners
- How remote monitoring extends physician capacity
- How patients receive timely support between office visits
- How third-party clinical or operational support contributes to the program
The Clinical Staff Perspective
Care managers, nurses, pharmacists, and other clinical professionals understand the day-to-day reality of remote monitoring better than almost anyone.
Their perspective can help explain:
- What a typical monitoring day looks like
- How concerning trends are identified
- How medication adherence is supported
- How patients are educated and engaged
- How issues are escalated
- How care is coordinated with physicians
- How early intervention may prevent emergency department visits or hospitalizations
- What would happen if staffing structures or monitoring capacity changed
Potential Impact
Operational Impact
Potential operational impacts include:
- Staffing changes that would be required
- Recruiting or workforce challenges
- Additional training requirements
- Increased administrative burden
- Workflow disruption
- Reduced efficiency or scalability
- Longer response times
- Reduced ability to coordinate care effectively
Financial Impact
Financial considerations include:
- Whether proposed reimbursement would support continued program operations
- Additional staffing costs
- Technology and infrastructure costs
- Administrative expenses
- Investments that may no longer be financially viable
- Whether the program could remain sustainable at the proposed reimbursement level
Patient Impact
Potential patient impacts include:
- Reduced access to remote monitoring
- Fewer patients able to enroll
- Reduced monitoring frequency
- Longer response times
- Delayed clinical intervention
- Fewer high-risk patients served
- Reduced rural or underserved access
- Increased emergency department visits or hospitalizations
- Reduced ability to manage chronic disease proactively
If These Changes Are Finalized
Organizations may need to reduce the number of patients enrolled in RPM, restructure the staffing model, hire additional clinical staff, reduce monitoring frequency or service intensity, absorb additional operating costs, scale back or discontinue certain RPM services, or delay future program expansion.
FOR HEALTH SYSTEMS & HOSPITAL LEADERS
Health System Executive Guide
The System-Wide Impact of Remote Monitoring
Health systems and hospitals operate remote patient monitoring programs across large, diverse patient populations. The proposed 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule could significantly affect how these organizations deliver care, allocate clinical resources, and expand access to patients beyond the hospital or clinic.
Large healthcare organizations can provide valuable insight into how the proposed staffing and reimbursement changes could affect workforce planning, operational efficiency, financial sustainability, and patient access across entire communities.
Your Organization
The scope of your health system includes:
- Number of hospitals, clinics, or care sites
- Number of employed or affiliated providers
- Geographic footprint
- Rural or underserved communities served
- Medicare patient population
- Specialty programs utilizing remote monitoring
- Approximate number of active RPM patients
Your Current Care Model
Key aspects of how remote monitoring supports care across your organization include:
- Integration across hospitals, physician groups, and outpatient clinics
- Team-based care models
- Centralized monitoring teams
- Coordination among physicians, nurses, pharmacists, care managers, and other qualified clinical professionals
- How remote monitoring supports care transitions and chronic disease management
- How it improves continuity of care between visits
Potential Impact
Workforce & Operations
The proposed changes could affect:
- Clinical staffing requirements
- Hiring challenges
- Workforce shortages
- Training requirements
- Administrative burden
- Operational complexity
- Scalability across multiple sites
Financial Sustainability
The proposed changes could affect:
- Program sustainability
- Workforce investments
- Technology investments
- Expansion of remote monitoring services
- Long-term strategic planning
- Return on investment for established programs
Patient Access
Potential impacts on patients and communities include effects on:
- Access for rural and underserved populations
- High-risk and medically complex patients
- Chronic disease management
- Specialty care access
- Care transitions following hospitalization
- Emergency department utilization
- Hospital readmissions
If These Changes Are Finalized
Organizations may need to reduce enrollment in remote monitoring programs, restructure clinical staffing models, delay or cancel expansion initiatives, reduce monitoring capacity, absorb additional operational costs, scale back or discontinue certain programs, or reduce access for some patient populations.
Every Health System Is Different
Large-scale implementation examples, workforce considerations, and patient outcomes help CMS understand how proposed policies could affect healthcare delivery across entire communities.
FOR PATIENTS, CAREGIVERS & FAMILY MEMBERS
The Patient and Caregiver Perspective
The Value of Remote Monitoring
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed changes that could make it more difficult for some physician practices to continue offering remote monitoring services as they do today. The proposal is not final.
Personal experiences can help explain what policy language and statistics cannot: how remote monitoring affects real patients, caregivers, and families between office visits.
What Is Remote Monitoring?
Remote monitoring allows a care team to stay connected with a patient between appointments by reviewing health information such as blood pressure, weight, glucose readings, oxygen levels, or other clinical data.
For patients and families, this may mean:
- Identifying health concerns earlier
- Avoiding unnecessary emergency department visits or hospitalizations
- Feeling more confident managing a chronic condition
- Improving communication with the care team
- Making caregiving more manageable
- Providing greater peace of mind
- Helping a loved one remain safely at home
Care Between Office Visits
Patients experience remote monitoring firsthand. Caregivers and family members often see its broader impact: the reassurance of knowing someone is watching for concerning changes, the phone call that comes before a medical emergency, or the support that makes caring for a loved one feel less overwhelming.
Remote Monitoring in Daily Life
Examples might include:
- Receiving a call after the care team noticed a concerning change
- Feeling reassured that someone was monitoring a loved one’s health
- Getting treatment adjusted before a condition became more serious
- Avoiding an unnecessary trip to the hospital
- Feeling supported between office visits
- Helping a loved one remain safely at home
Potential impacts also include what losing this support could mean for patients and families managing a chronic condition between office visits.
Important: The proposed CMS policy has not been finalized. Your current care should continue unless your healthcare provider tells you otherwise.
