For Clinicians

RPM Hypertension Quick Guide

RPM Hypertension is a support system for patients and doctors that simplifies and expedites the management of BP using home BP data.

For general questions about the program, call the RPM Navigator at 1-929-440-0316.

For questions about RPM equipment, call Current Health at 1-844-611-2232

Patients can learn more at www.rpmhypertension.org

How Does It Work


Clinicians order RPM Hypertension in Epic.

Home BP devices are delivered to patients’ homes via a shipping service. The home BP device comes with a tablet that transmits BP data into Epic via cellular networks. We have partnered with a company called Current Health to have the devices delivered.

Patient enrollment, onboarding, and engagement are managed by trained RPM Navigators. RPM Navigators provide instruction in proper home BP measurement and reminders to check their BP at home.

RPM Pharmacists actively monitor and triage home BP data for extreme readings.

Clinicians get a weekly Epic In-Basket message with list of their patients’ BP readings and access to average BP calculated.

Why RPM Hypertension


Benefits

With RPM Hypertension, clinicians can rest assured that they will get home BP readings from validated devices integrated into Epic. This results in better BP control and greater patient satisfaction.

Patients find RPM Hypertension easy to use.

Reasons

  • Validated Home BP devices that transmit data cellularly

  • Data integrated into Epic

  • Average BP calculated for you

  • Accessible to patients with any level of tech literacy

  • Patients are supported by navigators

  • Pharmacists monitor & triage extreme BP readings for you

  • Evidence-based approach to lowering BP*

  • Get reliable access to accurate home BP data

  • ~50% of patients have controlled home BP without needing to increase medication

    *Tucker et al. Self-monitoring of blood pressure in hypertension: A systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis. PLOS Medicine. 2017; PLoS Med 14: e1002389.

Who to Refer*


Clinicians choose who to refer.

*Patients who reside out of New York State are not eligible

Good candidates:

  • Patients who cannot obtain their own home BP device

  • Patients prescribed less than three BP medications

  • Patients for whom clinicians want to exclude white-coat hypertension

Think twice before referring:

  1. Patients with severely elevated office BP (e.g., >180mmHg) or being treated by multiple specialists

  2. Patients who are anxious from taking home BP readings

  3. Patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD)

Step 1

Explain the program

Key points to convey to patients:

  1. Patients will be loaned a home BP device for about 6 months

  2. Navigators will call them to confirm their information for device delivery

  3. Patients are expected to check their home BP about once per day

  4. The home BP device sends the BP data to the EHR. This helps clinicians better manage their hypertension.

  5. Clinical pharmacists will monitor their BP readings from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. But if patients become concerned that their BP is too high or too low, especially if they are having associated symptoms, they should not wait for the pharmacist to call.

    See Billing section for details about documenting consentbilling and out-of-pocket costs. This is only relevant if the clinician plans to bill for the program.

Ordering


Step 2

Determine cuff size

To get accurate BP readings, patients must use the correct cuff size. Cuffs that are too tight can give falsely elevated BP readings.

Prior to ordering the cuff, best practice is to measure your patient’s arm circumference at their mid upper arm (around the biceps)

BP cuffs for the home BP device used in this program come in 3 sizes:

  • X-Small: 6”-9”; (roughly corresponds to BMI 12-20)

  • Regular: 9”-17”; (roughly corresponds to BMI 19-37; cuff may be too loose in those who are very thin)

  • XL: 16.5”-18.9”; (roughly corresponds to BMI 37-40; cuff may be too tight in those with severe obesity)

For severely obese patients (e.g., BMI >40), considering ordering a Regular device that fits around the forearm.

The Current Health support team is trained to assess BP cuff fit when patients are being set up with their devices.

Step 3

Place the order in Epic

  • Orders must come from either an Office Visit or Documentation encounter.

  • Check your Epic Preference List to see if the “RPM Hypertension” order is included;

    • Note: Residents may be expected to refer patients to a pharmacist or NP who will co-manage the hypertension. In this case, the pharmacist or NP will be responsible for managing the home BP readings on the residents’ behalf.

  • If the order is not in your Preference List, type the words “RPM” or “Hypertension” to find the order (See screenshots below)

  • Once you identify the correct order

    • Select BP cuff size (XS, Regular, or XL). Hover over exclamation mark to see how arm circumference corresponds to cuff size.

    • Enter diagnosis code. This is typically hypertension (I10)


What happens after you place your order?

Navigator will contact patient
A navigator calls patient to confirm their demographic information and what to expect from the program.

Vendor will confirm device is working
Current Health calls patient to schedule device delivery.

After delivery, Current Health teaches patients how to set up the device and take a home BP reading.

Prescribing Home BP Devices after RPM Hypertension


RPM Hypertension loans patients home BP devices for ~6 months. You may want your patients to get their own home BP device after RPM Hypertension ends.

Just because home BP devices are commercially available and “FDA cleared” does not mean they are accurate.

Experts recommend using a validated device listing (e.g., http://ValidateBP.org) to determine if your patient’s home BP device is accurate.

Experts also recommend asking your patients to show you (or your nurse) how they self-measure their BP using their own device. Then, check the accuracy of their device as compared to a validated office BP device.

Choose the correct BP cuff size based on the patient’s biceps circumference. If the cuff is too small, it can inflate BP by 20 mmHg or more.

Ref: Ishigami et al. Effect of cuff size on the accuracy of BP readings. JAMA Intern Med. 2023:183;1061-1068

3. Search for '“blood pressure” and select “Automatic Blood Pressure Monitor”.

Recommended low cost, well-validated home BP devices with Bluetooth

Omron-3 or A&D Essential wireless;

Ordering home BP devices on Parachute

NY state Medicaid covers the cost of home BP devices. To increase the chance that your patient’s device will be covered by Medicaid, order it on Parachute. It takes seconds to do so and the device will be delivered within days. Ask your DME Social Worker for help if you need it.

Steps to order on Parachute

  1. Launch Parachute and Create New Order.

2. Select Supplier (Landauer at NYP). Please note that your practice’s preferred vendor may differ from the one shown below. Ask your social worker or practice manager if you are unsure which is the best one for your practice.

5. Sign your order.

Don’t forget to ask your patient to bring their home BP device to an upcoming appointment so that you or a team member can check that the patient follows the correct measurement protocol and has the correct cuff size.

If your patient is using a device not on the validated device listing (see www.validatebp.org), also check to see if the BP reading measured by the device is concordant with readings from your office device.

4. Choose the correct size and provide any additional information needed.

Billing for home BP monitoring education

You can bill for the time you or a member of your office spent educating patients on appropriate device use, by using CPT 99473. You cannot bill for this on the same day as an E&M visit. This type of visit reimburses $11 from Medicare/Medicaid and $33 from commercial insurers.

Talk to your practice manager if you would like to learn more about billing for this activity.

There are several ways to view RPM Hypertension data in Epic. These are the most convenient ways:

  1. Health Trends (found within Patient Snapshot - you might have to scroll down to find it). This is the best way to view trends and average BP. Consider changing the layout of Snapshot so that Health Trends is at the top.

  2. Patient Clinical Update. This is where you will get weekly updates of your patients’ home BP readings

  3. RPM Synopsis provides another view of the data.

Viewing Home BP Data


Managing home BP Data


  • Clinicians manage home BP data how they think best.

  • To keep track of patients in RPM Hypertension, don’t click “Done” for a given patient’s message in Patient Clinical Update until you get another message a week later. Then click “Done” on the prior week’s message. This way you will have one message for each patient.

  • We recommend giving patients feedback on their home BP data every 1-2 weeks, if possible.

  • For patients with home BP at or close to goal, click on “Msg to Pt” to send a quick “Congratulations!” message through Connect.

  • For patients with home BP above goal and no upcoming appointments, here are some options:

    • Schedule patient for an in-person or virtual visit. This way you can bill for your time and not add to your unscheduled time

    • Send your patient a Connect message with treatment recommendations, especially if you had discussed them in advance.

    • Call your patient, and count this time toward RPM billing codes to get reimbursed for your effort (see Billing section, below).

Doctors are not expected to respond to very high or very low BP readings right away.

Patients will be monitored for extreme readings by a team of RPM Pharmacists from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Pharmacists will ask patients to repeat readings and will triage accordingly.

Calls with patients will be documented in Epic, and you and/or your call center will be notified if appropriate.

Since readings are not being monitored around the clock, patients should be instructed to not wait for someone from the program to contact them if they are ever concerned about their BP readings or symptoms.

Extreme BP Readings


BP readings that trigger calls from RPM Pharmacists*

  • SBP < 90 mmHg or > 210 mmHg

  • DBP > 130 mmHg

  • Pulse <40 bpm or >130 bpm

    *Alert thresholds can be customized in Epic

Billing


RPM Hypertension is billable under Medicare, Medicaid, and a growing number of commercial insurers including some Managed Medicaid plans through billing codes designed to reimburse for Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM).

Confirm that you are eligible to bill for RPM with your practice manager.

CPT code 99457 can be used by clinicians once per calendar month to bill for 20 minutes of time managing each patient in the RPM-Hypertension program. Reimbursement will count toward RVUs.

CPT code 99458 can be used by clinicians once per calendar month to bill for an additional 20 minutes of time managing each patient in the RPM-Hypertension program for those patients getting intensive management.

Reimbursement amount:

  • Medicare/Medicaid: ~$50/mo (1.5 RVU)

  • Commercial insurer: ~$150/mo (4.5 RVU)

To bill for CPT 99457, clinicians must do the following:

  1. Use smartphrase .rpmconsent to document that the patient consented to being in the program at the time of referral

  2. At least one calendar month later, open a telephone note and use smartphrase .rpmbill to document that a clinician and/or a member of the clinicians’s team (e.g., nurse, pharmacist, navigator) spent at least 20 minutes cumulatively over the calendar month managing hypertension with the benefit of the Epic-integrated home BP data. This time must include at least some synchronous communication (e.g., telephone call) between a clinician (or member of the clinician’s team) and the patient that is not being billed for separately. Type 99457 in the Charge Capture section.

A similar process can be used to bill for CPT 99458 if an additional 20 min (or 40 min total) is spent managing the patient in a single calendar month. Use smartphrase .rpmbillextra. This is expected to be uncommon.

If bills are placed, patients with Medicare or commercial insurance may be charged a co-pay.

In the future, there may be the option to also bill insurers for the cost of the wireless monitoring equipment using CPT codes 99453 and 99454 which could result in additional monthly co-pays for patients.

Detailed protocols for billing are being developed in conjunction with compliance officials.

How many RVUs can I earn with RPM Hypertension?

Refer 5 patients to program for 6 months each

Bill for 4 calls per patient at 1.5 - 4.5 RVUs/call

Total = 30-90 RVUs for 20 calls across 6 months (<1 call per week)

Timeline & Program Length


With this program, you should be able to get your patient’s BP under control within 6 months.

After the program ends, your patient will be expected to return the home BP equipment by delivery service.

Help your patient obtain their own validated home BP device. You can find validated devices on the website ValidateBP.org.

Ask your patients to continue to track their BP at home in the week before each office visit to make sure it is stays under control at home.


How long does the program last

  • The standard program lasts 6 months for each patient.

  • You or your patient can end the program anytime.

  • Patients who are non-compliant with home BP readings or who are not available for pharmacist calls due to travel or other reasins may be discharged early.

  • The RPM Navigator will contact you when your patient reaches 6 months to ask if you want to extend or discontinue the program.

  • You can re-refer your patient at any time.

Discharging your patient from the program

  • Only ordering clinicians can officially discharge patients from the program

  • To do so, create a new Documentation Encounter, then 1) place the Disenroll order, and 2) Resolve the Episode of Care as show in the screenshots below.

  • This enables the patient’s home BP device to become available to another patient and prevents new home BP readings from transmitting to Epic.

1. Create a new “Documentation” Encounter. Search for Disenroll - Current Health RPM order. Enter I10 for Dx association. Accept.

2. Go to Episodes of Care and click on Resolve.

Navigators make sure your patient can get started on and stay on track with home BP monitoring. They are not medical staff. There are 2 types of navigators, RPM Navigators and the Current Health Support Team (also called the Pulse Team)

RPM Navigator responsibilities :

  1. Contact patients after they are referred to review what to expect, to confirm that RPM Hypertension is a good fit, and to confirm information for device delivery. If patients already have their own home BP device and are comfortable using the patient portal, Navigators might recommend that patients switch to MyCare Hypertension.

  2. Contact referring clinicians at 6 months to find out whether they want to extend or discontinue the program.

  3. Be available by phone or secure chat for general questions about the program from clinicians or patients.

Current Health Navigator responsibilities:

  1. Teach patients how to set up and use the home BP device and Samsung tablet

  2. Teach patients the correct way to measure BP at home (e.g., rest for 5 minutes before taking a reading, no talking, etc…)

  3. Be available for technical questions about the devices, including malfunctions

RPM Pharmacists monitor home BP data for extreme readings. They are clinical pharmacists hired by our NYP health system.

RPM Pharmacist responsibilities:

1. Monitor home BP data from 9am - 5pm, Monday-Friday.

2. If readings exceed thresholds, call patients to repeat readings and assess for concerning symptoms.

3. Follow standard triage protocols and refer symptomatic patients for urgent care, when appropriate.

4. Relay patient concerns (e.g., need for refills) to practice-specific nursing pools or clinicians, when appropriate.

Role of Navigators & Pharmacists


Schedule short-term (e.g., 1 month after referrral) follow-up visits to ensure you have scheduled time to review home BP readings with your patients. This will help ensure that the time you spend caring for patients in the program does not fall into your unscheduled time.

Teach your patient that it’s the average that matters. Patients can be confused by their home BP going up and down. Refer them to the patient section of this web-based resource guide if they have questions.

Review your average BP goal (typically <130/80 mmHg) with your patient.

Discuss possible treatment plans with your patient in advance of knowing the home BP data. This way, when the data arrives, you will already have a plan in place.

Notify specialists that are co-managing hypertension with you (e.g., cardiologist, nephrologist) about the availability of home BP data in Epic.

Best Practices for Success


Case Studies


(all based on true patient cases, though details were altered to ensure patient confidentiality)

Other Resources to Help Manage Hypertension


  • Validated home BP device listing: go to website https://ww.w.ValidateBP.org to find out if your patients is using a validated device

  • Refer to pharmacist for medication reconciliation or hypertension co-management (only available at some clinics)

  • Order MyCare Hypertension or Connect BP Flowsheets to continue monitoring your patients’ home BP after RPM Hypertension loaner program ends

FAQs