FORT WORTH, Texas (March 25, 2020)—MedHab LLC launches Steprite and MyNotifi with pulse oximetry allowing home health therapists to monitor their patients either remotely or in-home. Steprite and MyNotifi offer four immediate benefits to home health. First, they both meet recent Medicare rulings regarding remote patient monitoring (RPM) and allow home health therapists to monitor patients remotely and receive Medicare reimbursements. Steprite and MyNotifi also allow patients to perform their therapy in-home or remotely and be monitored for their prescribed physical therapy by their therapist, eliminating the need for regular face-to-face contact between patient and therapist. With the addition of pulse oximetry, therapists will be able to see changes in heart rate and oxygen saturation, important to the long-term care of their patients, as well as potentially identifying pulmonary issues important in the diagnosis of COVID-19. Lastly, MedHab technology meets RPM requirements which affords home health the ability to monitor remotely.
In the new PDGM environment research shows that some insurance companies are already allowing physical therapists to perform and bill for remote physical therapy using the (GT) tag at the end of the 97000 series codes as a qualifier. Providers will need to contact their carriers to see if they allow the (GT) qualifier. With this present health care crisis, keeping vulnerable populations away from pubic exposure is critical, along with continuing prescribed rehabilitation to improve the well-being of patients. Surgeons can immediately utilize both technologies pre- and post-operatively to monitor and advance a patient’s therapy. In addition, there are remote monitoring codes that allow for payment of monthly review by the health care team under the direction of a physician.
StepRite is a wearable device that measures gait, range of motion and force distribution for patients requiring physical therapy. Orthopedists, cardiologists, neurologists and physical therapists, can use the device to ensure patients are correctly performing rehabilitation exercises and make clinical decisions regarding their care. StepRite is a class II medical device, HIPAA secure, and streams data from the device directly to the provider allowing the patient to perform physical therapy from their home, work, or while with a physical therapist.
MyNotifi is a wearable device that measures upper and lower extremity range of motion and is a fall detection device. MyNotifi features two distinct therapy platforms, one dedicated to physical therapy and the OTAGO exercise platform that is clinically proven to reduce falls by 35%. MyNotifi also allows for pulse oximetry monitoring like Steprite. MyNotifi is a Class I medical device and is also HIPAA secured.
Reacting to this declared national emergency, Medhab has added pulse oximetry, which measures oxygen saturation, to both technologies. “Given the current pandemic, it is important to measure oxygen saturation, as decreased oxygen is an early symptom of pulmonary dysfunction as seen with COVID-19,” stated Dr. John Early, MD, MedHab medical director. “StepRite and MyNotifi also offers solutions to providers regarding Medicare’s recent ruling allowing for continual care of patients via remote technology using newly created CPT codes,” said Early.
Many senior patients are referred to home health when post-surgical physical therapy is required. Under the current situation, home health can place both the physical therapist, and patient, at risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus. StepRite offers home health and outpatient physical therapy the option to take care of the patients through remote monitoring and telehealth.
MedHab technology was originally designed to meet the needs of telemedicine and remote patient monitoring. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) solutions have reduced hospital readmissions by 50% with more than 80% of the patients satisfied with the telehealth solution. Early also notes that, “Global evidence shows that when remote patient monitoring is used by doctors and physical therapists, patient outcomes are often better than traditional physical therapy.”
Both StepRite and MyNotifi incorporate physical therapy monitoring with pulse oximetry and enables physical therapists to stay in touch with their patients remotely. Once physical therapy has concluded, doctors can remain in contact with their patients indefinitely via weekly and monthly reports. “This offers a unique opportunity to meet Medicare’s recent changes to RPM, while also addressing the major issue of the pandemic,” added Early.
Johnny Ross, CEO of MedHab, said, “Patients want more efficient ways to engage their providers, which MedHab technology now offers.”
Visit medhab.com for more information.
