The RTM treatment-management codes require at least one documented, synchronous, interactive phone call each calendar month. Here is how to log it in BoneArc — and why it matters.
Logging RTM data throughout the episode is only part of the picture. The treatment-management codes — CPT 98979, 98980, and 98981 — also require that you actually talk with the patient: at least one documented synchronous, interactive phone call, once per calendar month.
One documented, synchronous, interactive phone call per calendar month. It must be a live, two-way voice conversation — phone only. Video and in-app messaging do not satisfy this requirement. Without a logged call for the calendar month, the treatment-management codes can’t bill.
A real-time, two-way voice conversation with the patient — not a voicemail, not a text thread. When you save the call you confirm this in the attestation.
The requirement is a phone call specifically. Video visits and in-app messaging do not count toward it.
At least one qualifying call must be documented in each calendar month you intend to bill the treatment-management codes.
Open the patient’s chart and go to the Calls tab — the RTM Calls surface.
Click Log Phone Call to open the form.
Enter the Call Date and the Duration (minutes) of the call.
Write a brief Clinical Summary — topics discussed, pain levels, exercise compliance, questions addressed, any plan changes.
Read the CMS Attestation statement BoneArc builds for you, then check the box: “I attest that the above statement is accurate and that this communication was synchronous and interactive as required by CMS for RTM treatment management services.”
Click Save & Attest Call Record. The call is stored with its attestation, and the treatment-management codes are supported for that calendar month.
The call is two things at once. First, it satisfies the interactive-communication requirement — the yes/no fact that a qualifying call happened this calendar month. Second, its duration rolls into your total management time for the calendar month, on top of the time you spend reviewing the patient’s RTM data.
Total management time = portal review time + call duration combined. So a 12-minute call both unlocks the episode and adds 12 minutes toward the treatment-management time thresholds behind 98979, 98980, and 98981. BoneArc shows the running total on the call form as you enter the duration.
Until a qualifying call is logged for the calendar month, BoneArc marks the treatment-management codes as not yet billable and prompts you to Log Phone Call to unlock them. Time reviewing data alone is not enough — the interactive call is a separate, required element of these codes.
Skipping it is not just missed revenue. Billing 98979, 98980, or 98981 for an episode with no documented interactive call is a claim you can’t stand behind if it’s reviewed — a clawback risk. Logging the call, with its attestation, is what puts the documentation in place before the code goes out.
This is a how-to for using BoneArc, not billing or legal advice. Confirm coding, coverage, and documentation requirements with your own biller and payer. Make the call, log it in the same episode, and the treatment-management codes have the record they need behind them.
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