Cellular-connected meter meets new CMS reimbursement guidelines

A cellular-connected blood glucose meter is now available to meet CMS requirements for the recently adopted Remote Monitoring CPT code, which allows Medicaid reimbursement for reviewing downloaded medical data, Smart Meter announced in a press release.

In January, Medicare began reimbursing for technology-assisted remote monitoring of chronic conditions. The new CPT code 99091 covers remote patient monitoring, which enables providers to get reimbursed for reviewing diabetes data from connected devices. The iGlucose Diabetes Care Solution (Smart Meter) uses cellular-enabled technology to automatically transmit real-time blood glucose results without a need for Bluetooth syncing.

“Our cell-enabled iGlucose system is a perfect solution for the person with diabetes and supports this CMS initiative and reimbursement opportunity,” Cliff McIntosh, CEO of Smart Meter, said in a statement. “Cellular connectivity automatically sends blood glucose results in real-time to a secure cloud and eliminates the need for unreliable Bluetooth syncing and pairing, which can be challenging for patients.”

The new Remote Patient Monitoring CPT code requires the following criteria:

Results must transmit to the provider in real-time.
There is an active feedback loop to patients via text or email.
Health data are patient-generated.
Patient data are digitally stored.

The iGlucose does not require smartphones, apps, syncing technology, pairing with other devices or finding an available WiFi network. The real-time data and ability to communicate with patients provides clinicians with an active feedback loop (text/email), enabling better, up-to-date recommendations, McIntosh said in the release.

The iGlucose cell-enabled diabetes blood glucose system allows test results to be shared with a “Circle of Care” that can include any number of select health care team members and family members. The iGlucose system was also recently approved for patient reimbursement through Medicare, according to the release.

“We are excited to deliver an affordable, approved remote care management solution for clinicians to better monitor and manage patients,” McIntosh said in the release. “The iGlucose solution is easy to use for people with diabetes and our cell-enabled technology ensures that their data is secure, organized and automatically recorded. Reviewing real-time blood glucose results in iGlucose’s population management portal offers the clinician workplace efficiencies while fostering patient communication and connectivity.” – by Regina Schaffer

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