HOUSE BILL COULD IMPROVE ACCESS TO REMOTE PATIENT MONITORING, ADVAMED SAYS

AdvaMed announced Sept. 13 its support of a House bill meant to improve patient access to remote monitoring technology.

The Remote Monitoring Access Act of 2006, H.R. 6063, was introduced Sept. 13 by Reps. Charles Pickering (R-Miss.), J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and John Tanner (D-Tenn.).

The legislation would add reimbursement for physician-provided remote patient management services to Part B of Medicare for treatment of diabetes, cardiac arrhythmia, heart failure, sleep apnea and other diseases, according to a statement issued by Pickering's office. "The bill does not require remote monitoring but simply increases the opportunity for the technology for those patients who, upon the advice of their health care providers, choose to employ it."

"This legislation will eliminate the disincentives that exist in current Medicare rules that only provide payment for face-to-face meetings between patients and their doctors," said AdvaMed President and CEO Stephen Ubl. "The current system actually discourages physicians from adopting innovative remote monitoring technologies that can provide more accurate, real-time information on a patient's condition."