Reimbursement
$41.80
Threshold
20m
2026 Status
Active
What is CPT Code 98981?
CPT 98981 is defined as: Remote therapeutic monitoring treatment management services, clinical staff/physician/other qualified health care professional time in a calendar month requiring interactive communication with the patient/caregiver during the month; each additional 20 minutes (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure).
This code is primarily used for RTM services. It falls under the category of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) and is valid for the 2026 calendar year according to the CMS Physician Fee Schedule.
2026 RVU Components
Relative Value Units (Non-Facility)
Work RVU
0.61
Physician Effort
PE (Non-Fac)
0.6
Practice Expense
Malpractice
0.04
Risk Factor
Total RVU
1.25
Note: [(Work RVU * Work GPCI) + (PE RVU * PE GPCI) + (MP RVU * MP GPCI)] * Conversion Factor
2026 CMS Policy Intelligence
threshold reduction
CMS 2026 officially reduced the additional time threshold to 10 minutes (matching RPM consistency).
efficiency shield
Protected from the -2.5% productivity adjustment (Time-based care management service).
revenue impact
Allows therapists to capture revenue for mid-length sessions (e.g., 30 minutes) which were previously difficult to bill in larger 20-minute buckets.
Administrative Framework
Place of Service
Key Modifiers
Operational Requirements
minimum time
Each additional 10 minutes (Threshold starts at 30, 40, 50... total RTM minutes).
primary code
98980 (Must be billed for the first 20 minutes).
staff type
Clinical staff, physician, or QHP (including PT/OT/SLP) under general supervision.
stacking rule
Can be billed with multiple units for each additional 10-minute block.
Compliance Checklist
Audit Defense
minute by minute log
Audit logs must show incremental accumulation of time. 'Reviewing data' entries must be accompanied by the required interactive component in the base 20 mins.
therapist attribution
Clearly document the PT/OT/SLP name and time spent to justify therapist-level RTM billing.
2026 Update
The 10-minute rule is a major change from previous 20-minute expectations. EMRs must be updated to trigger at the 30-minute cumulative mark.
Common Clinical Scenarios
Target Specialties & Utilization
Typical Clinical Indications (ICD-10)
Frequently Asked Questions
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