Reimagine Remote Care Management in 2026: A checklist for your practice
As we enter 2026, remote care is undergoing another meaningful shift, one shaped by both regulatory change and the lessons we’ve learned from a challenging healthcare landscape. The finalized CMS Physician Fee Schedule brings important updates across CCM, RPM, PCM, and APCM, but the real story is what these changes make possible.
This checklist highlights the strides we’ve made in addressing the pressures of a strained healthcare system and in equipping patients, providers, and practices with the tools, team, and infrastructure needed to deliver life-changing, whole-person care. We learned from 2025, what worked, what didn’t, and what clinicians need most, and created a clearer, more actionable checklist to guide your approach in 2026.
At the core of this approach, the secret sauce is a more engaging and responsive care environment, one that can sustain the massive volume of interactions necessary for truly proactive remote care. Supported by Medsien’s technology and dedicated clinical teams, your practice can turn 2026’s regulatory shifts into a strategic advantage, elevating care delivery while ensuring consistent, measurable financial performance.
Use this checklist to navigate the new rules with confidence and to strengthen how your practice delivers remote care in a year defined by progress.
2026 Remote Care Management checklist
✅ Stay ahead of CMS updates and adjust your protocols accordingly
✅ Align RPM programs with patient behavior to increase meaningful touchpoints
✅ Adopt integrated platforms that consolidate data and reduce administrative load
✅ Improve patient touchpoints to enhance adherence and clinical continuity
✅ Track and report key outcomes that matter for quality and reimbursement
✅ Work with experienced remote-care specialists to strengthen your care delivery model
✅ Stay ahead of CMS updates
What is new for 2026
CMS has finalized a series of impactful updates that reshape remote care management programs, expanding flexibility, improving reimbursement, and integrating behavioral health more fully.
- New RPM device code for 2-15 days of data (CPT 99445):
Practices can now bill for RPM device supply and data transmission when patients generate 2 to 15 days of physiologic data in a 30 day period, instead of only being reimbursed when they reach 16 days or more. - Existing RPM device code for 16-30 days (CPT 99454) remains:
99454 continues to represent 16-30 days of data, but CMS has finalized that 99445 (2-15 days) and 99454 (16-30 days) will be paid at the same rate, giving your team flexibility to match monitoring intensity to clinical need without sacrificing reimbursement. - New time threshold code for RPM/RTM treatment time (CPT 99470):
A new code is available for 10-19 minutes of treatment management, filling the gap when your work does not reach the full 20 minute threshold required by existing codes. This better reflects the real, incremental care your team already provides. - APCM behavioral health add ons:
CMS has finalized three new G codes as optional add-on services that can be billed with APCM to support behavioral health integration or Collaborative Care Model services. This makes it easier to deliver whole person care to complex patients through an APCM framework. - Updated conversion factors and reimbursement calculation approach:
For 2026, CMS is applying separate conversion factors for qualifying and non qualifying APM participants, including a statutory 2.5 percent increase and additional adjustments that result in an overall positive update for many time based services. CMS is also updating how some remote monitoring services are valued, using outpatient hospital data to better reflect current practice expense.
Why it matters
These changes remove some of the most frustrating barriers to RPM and care management. You can now:
- Support patients who only need short term or episodic monitoring (for example, post discharge checks, medication titration, or mild exacerbations) and still be reimbursed.
- Capture time for shorter, targeted clinical interactions that previously fell below the 20 minute threshold.
- Expand APCM programs to include structured behavioral health components using new add on codes.
How Medsien helps
Medsien stays aligned with every CMS rule cycle and embeds those changes directly into our platform:
- Our billing intelligence engine is updated with new codes, thresholds, and combinations, so claims are built correctly without your staff having to memorize new rules.
- RPM workflows within Medsien can be calibrated to 2-15 day pathways or 16-30 day pathways, while still enforcing CMS requirements around device type, clinical use, and single condition alignment.
- APCM and CCM programs can be configured to layer in behavioral health services where appropriate, backed by clear documentation and reporting.
You get the benefit of the new flexibility without worrying about misbilling or missing revenue.
✅ Align RPM programs with patient behavior
What’s new
Practices can now capture and act on shorter or intermittent RPM monitoring periods, reflecting how patients actually engage with their care.
Why it matters
This inclusivity allows you to:
- Check in on patients during short bursts of medication changes
- Support recovery after procedures or hospital stays
- Maintain periodic monitoring for mostly controlled conditions
Previously, these meaningful interactions were often missed or underutilized.
How Medsien helps
Medsien makes it easier to maximize patient engagement by:
- Tracking each patient’s monitoring pattern and highlighting opportunities for timely touchpoints
- Alerting your team when patients might need extra support
- Connecting device data to care plans, notes, and workflows so every interaction counts
The result is more frequent, meaningful touchpoints with patients and a scalable RPM program that adapts to real life.
✅ Adopt integrated platforms
What’s new
As remote care becomes more complex, practices need systems that integrate directly with their existing EHR and scheduling tools instead of relying on disconnected spreadsheets or manual reports.
Why it matters
Fragmented tools slow staff down, increase risk of errors, and make it difficult to adapt quickly when CMS rules change or new codes are released.
How Medsien helps
Medsien offers deep EHR integration with leading platforms and:
- Automates eligibility, enrollment and many more workflows
- Syncs care plans, notes, and billing data in and out of the EHR
- Reflects new codes and thresholds behind the scenes so your team does not have to rebuild processes every year
Our platform works quietly in the background so your clinicians and staff can stay focused on patients.
✅ Improve patient touchpoints
What is new
CMS is clearly signaling continued emphasis on chronic disease management, preventive care, and behavioral health integration. Remote programs only work if patients stay engaged long enough for your team to intervene meaningfully.
Why it matters
Patients who feel supported and connected are more likely to:
- Use their devices consistently
- Stay on top of medications and care plans
- Reach out before a problem becomes an emergency
How Medsien helps
Medsien’s care team and workflows are designed for sustained engagement:
- Our Care Partners form ongoing relationships with patients through proactive outreach and education
- Multichannel communication and flexible scheduling make it easy for patients to participate
- Engagement metrics feed back into your dashboards so you can see what is working and where to adjust
✅ Track and report key outcomes
What is new
The 2026 rule and broader CMS strategy continue to emphasize value based care, reduced preventable utilization, and better chronic disease control. Remote care management programs are one of the clearest ways to move the needle on these goals.
Why it matters
Payers and health systems want proof that programs lead to:
- Fewer ER visits and hospitalizations
- Better control of conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure
- Higher patient satisfaction and access
How Medsien helps
Medsien provides:
- Real time analytics that track key quality metrics and utilization trends
- Structured documentation that shows how RPM and CCM interactions support guideline based care
- Reporting that aligns clinical outcomes with financial performance, so you can clearly see ROI and quality impact
✅ Work with experienced remote-care specialists
What is new
Remote care management and APCM programs are no longer side projects. They are core infrastructure for modern practices, requiring program design, staffing, training, compliance, and continuous optimization.
Why it matters
Trying to manage everything internally can strain your team, slow down implementation, and increase risk of non compliance in a rapidly changing rule environment.
How Medsien helps
Medsien becomes an extension of your organization:
- Staffing: Nationally certified Care Partners and clinical leaders who understand CCM, RPM, PCM, RTM, APCM, and FQHC/RHC nuances
- Software: Purpose built platform with deep EHR integration and rule aware billing intelligence
- Billing and compliance support: Guardrails around code selection, time tracking, and documentation, updated as CMS rules evolve
- Program strategy: Guidance on which populations to enroll, how to design short term vs long term monitoring pathways, and how to leverage new codes like 99445 and 99470 effectively and compliantly
2026 is your year to modernize remote care
The 2026 CMS final rule is not just a list of new codes. It is an opportunity to build remote care programs that are more scalable, more aligned with real patient needs, and more sustainable for your practice.
Medsien helps you turn those regulations into a competitive advantage by combining:
- Intelligent, rule aware technology
- Deep EHR integration
- Dedicated, highly trained Care Partners
- Proven workflows that scale from single site practices to large health systems
If you are ready to make the most of the new RPM and care management landscape in 2026, Medsien is ready from day one with the changes already built into our platform.
Ready to start? Learn more about Medsien’s solutions or contact us today to transform your remote care management programs for 2026 and beyond.
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