The latest Office of Inspector General – OIG remote patient monitoring report takes a data-driven look at Medicare’s growing use of connected health services. In 2024, Medicare payments for remote patient monitoring climbed to $536 million, a 31% increase from the prior year. Nearly one million Medicare enrollees received monitoring services, up 27% from 2023.
This article breaks down the latest OIG remote patient monitoring report, highlighting 2024 Medicare billing trends, oversight concerns, and best practices for providers.
Growth in Remote Patient Monitoring
Since Medicare began broadly covering these services in 2019, payments have risen every year. About 4,600 medical practices billed for RPM in 2024. These practices typically manage 70 patients annually and added about five new patients each month.
The OIG remote patient monitoring report also noted unusual growth at a small number of practices. Thirty-two practices increased their RPM patient count by 150% or more in a single month. And one billed for nearly 3,400 new enrollees in just 30 days. These spikes may reflect strong uptake but also raise oversight concerns.
Oversight Risks in the OIG Remote Patient Monitoring Report
The OIG identified some billing patterns below that warrant closer review.
- No prior patient relationship: Medicare requires an in-person or telehealth encounter before billing for RPM. Yet 45 practices billed without such a visit in more than 80% of cases. One practice had over 30,000 patients without a prior relationship.
- Treatment management not billed: Treatment management is reviewing patient data and making care decisions, and it was billed consistently by most practices. At 52 practices, however, more than 75% of patients never had it recorded.
- Duplicate and multiple device billing: Most practices avoided these issues, but 34 billed the same patients as other practices. Twenty were found to have billed for two or more devices per patient per month, with one reporting 1,700 such instances in 2024.
What Practices Can Do to Strengthen RPM Billing
While the OIG highlighted risks, these findings reflect a subset of providers and not the norm across remote care. Most practices billed responsibly, pairing monitoring devices with active treatment management to improve outcomes for patients with chronic conditions.
However, to keep programs both compliant and clinically effective, practices can focus on a few things.
- Document patient encounters clearly before initiating RPM.
- Track and log treatment management time each month.
- Review device billing to prevent duplication or overuse.
- Conduct internal audits to flag sudden spikes or anomalies early.
- Research outsourcing opportunities and software billing partners.
- Review Tenovi’s RPM Best Practices article or our 10-Step Guide to RPM Implementation, which follow the AMA Remote Patient Monitoring Playbook.
Remote patient monitoring is expanding rapidly, and the benefits for patients are substantial. Strengthening billing practices ensures that RPM continues to deliver value, while protecting providers from compliance pitfalls.
Additonal RPM Resources
For remote health clinicians looking to deepen their understanding of remote patient monitoring and compliance best practices, here are trusted sources:
AMA Remote Patient Monitoring Playbook – Practical guidance from the American Medical Association on how to design, launch, and scale RPM programs.
CMS Remote Patient Monitoring Guidance – Coverage details, billing rules, and policy updates for RPM services from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services..
OIG Report: Additional Oversight Needed (2024) – The OIG’s earlier evaluation that set the stage for its 2025 analysis, offering broader context on why billing safeguards are critical.
Peterson Center on Healthcare Report (2025) – Another data-driven look at evolving remote monitoring, coverage, and payment trends, with insights for payers and providers.
Understanding the OIG Remote Patient Monitoring Report
The OIG remote patient monitoring report shows both momentum and caution: RPM reached nearly $536 million in Medicare payments and served one million enrollees in 2024, yet billing irregularities highlight the importance of oversight. For most practices, RPM is a well-integrated and clinically valuable service. By following established best practices, such as those outlined in the AMA Playbook and Tenovi’s RPM Best Practices, providers can deliver high-quality care, avoid compliance pitfalls, and ensure remote patient monitoring continues to expand as a cornerstone of connected care.
