RTM CPT 98979: Additional RTM Treatment Management Time

CPT 98979 is a new Remote Therapeutic Monitoring code, effective January 1, 2026, that pays for 10–19 minutes of monthly RTM treatment management time — a lower time threshold than the existing 98980 code, which requires a minimum of 20 minutes. It requires at least one real-time interactive communication with the patient or caregiver during the calendar month.

This page provides general educational information about CPT and RTM billing codes. It is not coding advice, a guarantee of reimbursement, or a substitute for your own compliance review. Payer coverage and documentation requirements vary by plan and can change — verify current requirements with CMS, your Medicare Administrative Contractor, and each payer before billing.

What CPT 98979 Covers

CPT 98979 is a Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) treatment management code introduced in the CY2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule. It describes clinical staff, physician, or other qualified health care professional (QHP) time spent each calendar month reviewing RTM data, managing the patient's care plan, and communicating with the patient about their monitored condition — for the first 10–19 minutes of that monthly work.

It exists alongside the established 98980 code (first 20 minutes) as a lower-threshold option. Before 2026, a practice that accumulated only 10–19 minutes of qualifying treatment management time in a given month had no RTM management code to bill for that month at all — the 20-minute floor created an all-or-nothing outcome. 98979 closes that gap, in the same spirit as the shorter-duration device-supply codes (98984, 98985, 98986) that were added for the same reason.

As with all RTM treatment management codes, the requirement is not just "time spent" — CMS requires at least one real-time interactive communication with the patient or their caregiver during the month the code is billed. CMS has clarified that this real-time communication requirement can be satisfied through audio-only calls, not just audio-video encounters, though practices should confirm current language directly with CMS guidance before relying on this as a fixed rule.

Who Can Bill 98979

RTM treatment management codes, including 98979, are billed by the treating physician, other QHP, or their clinical staff acting under the physician's/QHP's direction, consistent with the general supervision and incident-to rules that already apply to 98980/98981. CMS reaffirmed in the CY2026 rule that RTM billing-practitioner eligibility remains limited to physicians and QHPs whose scope of practice covers RTM services — and specifically declined to extend RTM billing eligibility to pharmacists or dietitians for 2026.

Where a physical therapist, occupational therapist, or speech-language pathologist (or a PTA/OTA under supervision) furnishes the service, 98979 carries a "sometimes therapy" designation, meaning GP/GO/GN therapy modifiers apply in that scenario the way they do for other therapy-furnished RTM services. Existing PTA/OTA billing rules — including CQ/CO modifiers when an assistant furnishes more than 10% of the service — continue to apply.

Time and Unit Rules

98979 is billed once per calendar month for 10–19 minutes of qualifying treatment management time.
If total monthly time reaches 20 minutes or more, the practice should bill 98980 (and 98981 for additional 20-minute increments) instead — not 98979 layered on top.
Only one RTM treatment management base code may be billed per patient per calendar month. A practice chooses either 98979 or 98980 for that month; the two are not billed together, and 98979 is not an add-on to 98980.
Time counted should reflect the clinical staff/physician/QHP work of reviewing transmitted RTM data, adjusting the treatment plan, and the real-time communication itself — not passive data collection by the device, which is billed separately under the device-supply codes.

Documentation Requirements

To support a 98979 claim, documentation should generally include:

Total minutes of qualifying treatment management time for the calendar month, ideally with a running log rather than a single end-of-month estimate.
Date, duration, and mode of the real-time interactive communication with the patient or caregiver (e.g., a phone call on a specific date).
A note describing what was reviewed (RTM data trends, symptom reports) and any resulting change to the care plan — this ties the billed time to active clinical management, not passive monitoring.
The condition being monitored (musculoskeletal, respiratory, or cognitive/behavioral) and its relationship to the monitoring device or program in use.
Confirmation that a corresponding device-supply code (98978, 98986, or the applicable respiratory/musculoskeletal code) was billed for the same monitoring period, since RTM management codes are meant to accompany an active device-supply episode.

Common Denial Reasons

Missing or absent real-time communication documentation — no record of a live call or interactive exchange during the billed month.
Time under 10 minutes — insufficient qualifying time to meet even the 98979 threshold.
Billing both 98979 and 98980 for the same patient in the same month — payers will reject the duplicate treatment-management claim since only one base code applies per month.
No corresponding device-supply code on the claim — RTM management time billed without an active RTM device-supply episode (98978/98986 or the musculoskeletal/respiratory equivalents) in the same period.
Vague time documentation — a total minutes figure with no supporting detail on what activities constituted that time.

Worked Example Scenario

A patient enrolled in a cognitive-behavioral RTM program (billed under 98978 or the new short-duration 98986) submits symptom and mood check-ins through the monitoring platform over the course of a month. Midway through the month, clinical staff notice a worsening symptom trend, review the data (6 minutes), and place a phone call to the patient to discuss the change and adjust the home exercise/monitoring plan (9 minutes). Total qualifying time for the month: 15 minutes, with one documented real-time interactive communication. This falls in the 10–19 minute range, supporting a 98979 claim for that month rather than 98980, since the 20-minute threshold was not reached. No dollar amounts are referenced in this example; practices should confirm coverage and payment specifics with each payer.

Related and Adjacent Codes

98975 — initial RTM set-up and patient education, billed once per episode.
98978 — RTM device supply for cognitive behavioral therapy monitoring (16–30 days of data per 30-day period).
98980-98981 — RTM treatment management, first 20 minutes and each additional 20 minutes; the higher-threshold counterpart to 98979.
New CY2026 short-duration device-supply codes (2–15 days of data per 30-day period): 98984 (respiratory), 98985 (musculoskeletal), and 98986 (cognitive behavioral therapy) — the device-supply counterparts that pair with 98979's lower time threshold. Code numbers for these are drawn from the AMA CPT 2026 release and multiple converging secondary sources; confirm exact descriptors against the current CPT code set before billing.

How Kavera Handles This

Every minute you or your staff spend reviewing the dashboard, adjusting the plan or on the phone with the patient is logged in Kavera against that patient and month. The platform shows you which patients have crossed 10 minutes and which have crossed 20, so you bill 98979 or 98980, never both. Interactive communication is logged as its own event. Self-Serve practices run this with their own staff. On Managed, Juliet Mott's team runs it and bills it under your credentials. Educational, not coding advice. Verify requirements with CMS, your MAC and each payer.

FAQ

What is the difference between CPT 98979 and 98980?

98979 covers 10–19 minutes of monthly RTM treatment management time, while 98980 covers the first 20 minutes. Only one of the two is billed per patient per calendar month — a practice cannot bill both for the same month.

Does CPT 98979 require a live conversation with the patient?

Yes. CMS requires at least one real-time interactive communication with the patient or caregiver during the calendar month the code is billed, in addition to the qualifying time spent reviewing data and managing the care plan.

Can 98979 be billed without a device-supply code?

RTM treatment management codes like 98979 are meant to accompany an active RTM device-supply episode (such as 98978 or the new short-duration codes). Billing management time without a corresponding device-supply code for the same monitoring period is a common cause of denial.

Who is eligible to bill CPT 98979?

Physicians, other qualified health care professionals, and clinical staff under their direction, consistent with existing RTM supervision and incident-to rules. CMS confirmed in the CY2026 rule that pharmacists and dietitians remain ineligible to bill RTM codes.

Is CPT 98979 confirmed on CMS.gov, or only in secondary sources?

The code number and structure for 98979 are drawn from the AMA's CPT 2026 code set release and multiple converging billing-industry sources; CMS's own CY2026 final rule fact sheet does not itemize individual RTM code numbers. Practices should confirm exact code numbers and descriptor language against the CPT 2026 code book or the Federal Register final rule text before billing.