LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Dec 29, 2014) - Cytta Corp. (OTCQB: CYCA) - Beginning January 1st, 2015, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) will begin reimbursement for a number of telehealth services that the Agency hasn't covered before. This means that physicians will now get paid for using Cytta's remote monitoring system to remotely monitoring their patients' health!
CMS rule changes and current procedural terminology ("CPT") codes will significantly broaden coverage for chronic care telehealth services. "Government action to support healthcare technology creates greater acceptance of remote patient care and it essentially guarantees the growth of telemedicine usage that we anticipate for 2015," remarked Gary M. Campbell, CEO of Cytta.
CMS now includes a provision that would cover remote chronic care management using a new current procedural terminology ("CPT") code, 99490 (with a monthly unadjusted, non-facility fee of $42.60). This new CPT code can be bundled with the existing CPT code 99091 for collecting and reviewing patient data, which does not require the beneficiary to be present and pays an average monthly fee of $56.92 to the physician. The final rule also includes a provision that would cover remote-patient monitoring of chronic conditions using existing CPT code 99091 (with a monthly unadjusted, non-facility fee of $56.92).
In effect, these provisions broaden Medicare payments for remote patient monitoring of chronic conditions, while freeing patients from having to visit their doctor's office and permits doctors to watch over many more patients, in a far more cost efficient manner.
Notably, the 99490 and 99091 codes are available nationwide and intended for coverage of monitoring chronic conditions, the two services can now be combined as chronic care management and remote patient monitoring with a combined monthly fee of nearly $100.
"This is a tremendous leap forward for our CyttaConnect platform, for our care partners and patient users," says Erik Stephansen President of Cytta. "We are seeing telemedicine momentum pickup and, with proof of beneficial care occurring everyday, we expect additional CMS telehealth codes will be put in place to provide more funds for remote patient treatment."
Chronic care management is crucial to reducing healthcare costs. There are services required that many physicians just don't do right now, in part because they are not paid for it. By introducing controlled telehealth capabilities, there are larger economies of scale to help the physician.
Additionally, Hospitals might also take a greater interest in chronic care management to avoid readmissions penalties. Currently, there are more than 2,000 hospitals paying a penalty this year in their Medicare rates because of readmissions," mentioned Mr. Campbell. "Telehealth is the best way to remotely manage care and get ahead of care issues before they require emergency treatment."
The new rules also include seven new covered procedure codes for telehealth, including annual wellness visits, psychotherapy services, and prolonged services at physicians' offices.
For more information about our connected blue tooth monitoring devices, the Cytta Connect open source network and updates on our current research and actions go to http://www.Cytta.com/
About Cytta Corp.
Cytta Corp. is an open source remote monitoring connectivity system and is known for its Cytta Connect platform, a highly scalable and secure telehealth solution. In addition, Cytta offers specific care solutions such as its Doctor Direct program and the Hospital CARES re-admission program. Cytta's remote data capture highway, which connects monitoring devices seamlessly to a cloud-based data repository, is fully operational and available to selected healthcare segments. Our remote data capture system works over Cytta's Special Purpose Network utilizing 4G LTE AT&T domestic and international SIMS, a proprietary smartphone based, Mobile, Satellite, and WiFi open source platform, and cloud-based data repository. The Cytta Connect technology automatically connects all remote monitoring devices to Cytta's cloud-based data repository creating real time communication for the Healthcare & Telehealth and is available for use in other industries.
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