Will Remote Care Monitoring Soon Become the Seventh Discipline in the Plan of Care?

Over the past two years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the use of remote care technology in clinical practices of all kinds. With recent reports that the cost of COVID-19 social isolation has reached nearly $7 billion, we may soon see remote care monitoring (RCM) in the home expand exponentially. RCM may soon be considered the “seventh discipline” on many home health plans of care.

In home health, we must secure documentation of a face-to-face physician visit with the patient for the same reason we are seeing the patient in the home. The documentation secured for compliance with this rule includes a brief narrative that describes how the patient’s clinical condition, as seen during that encounter, supports the patient’s homebound status and need for skilled services.

In fact, CMS directs physicians through documentation, indicating “the face-to-face encounter can be performed via a telehealth service.” For home health organizations struggling to comply with the face-to-face rule, it is in their best interest to make this technology available to all admitted patients who require clinical care and are unable or unwilling to leave their home.