Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Monitoring Health Vitals at Home
Q1: WHAT IS THE NEW MEDICARE BENEFIT CPT 99091?
Medicare has added a new benefit to facilitate physician monitoring and assessing the health status of patients, as indicated by selected clinical vitals readings, while the patients are at home or away from the doctor’s office. This benefit saves patients’ time and expense as the vital readings are taken in the comfort of their own homes, to be electronically transmitted to their physicians. The beneficiary’s own physician evaluates and assesses these vital values monthly to change care plans and communicate with the patient as needed.
Q2: IS THIS MEDICARE BENEFIT AVAILABLE TO MA HMO OR PPO PLAN MEMBERS?
No. This benefit is only for Original Medicare Beneficiaries.
Q3: DOES THE PATIENT NEED TO HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH ANY CONDITION?
No. Through Medicare this benefit is open to all Medicare beneficiaries with Part B Coverage.
This service is also available for non-Medicare patients. Contact Serinus Health for more information.
Q4: WHAT DOES A PATIENT NEED TO DO TO SECURE THIS BENEFIT?
The patient needs to provide his/her consent form authorizing one physician to monitor and asses his or her health via vitals readings. This consent can be a verbal agreement.
Q5: CAN SEVERAL PHYSICIANS PROVIDE THIS BENEFIT?
No. As a Medicare benefit, beneficiary consent can be only given to one physician to provide this benefit, since Medicare can only be billed once per month for this benefit for each beneficiary.
For non-Medicare patients, at-home vitals monitoring can be customized according to your medical needs.
Q6: CAN ANY PHYSICIAN PROVIDE THIS BENEFIT?
Any physician the beneficiary or patient has seen within the past 12 months or that the beneficiary/patient will see in a clinical encounter to provide consent can provide this benefit. The physician could be a specialist, primary care or family doctor.
Q7: WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IF THERE ARE SEVERAL MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES LIVING IN THE SAME HOME?
Each person is an individual beneficiary, and each person must give individual consent. However, depending on the devices you have, several beneficiaries could use the same devices.
Q8: DOES THE PATIENT HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS NEW BENEFIT?
This benefit is part of Original Medicare Part B benefits to any eligible beneficiary that has enrolled for Part B coverage. Therefore, the beneficiary or his/her Medicare Supplementary Insurance must pay only for the usual part B Co-Insurance or $12 for each month you receive this benefit.
For non-Medicare patients, costs may vary. Please contact Serinus Health for more information.
Q9: HOW DOES THE PATIENT TAKE THEIR VITAL READINGS?
The patient’s physician will advise which vitals would be more useful for their health monitoring. Thereafter, the physician will recommend FDA-approved devices to facilitate the patient’s acquisition of the required devices, depending on the selected individual vitals. These devices have been selected to facilitate the collection and transmission of vital readings, via your smartphone or tablet, with minimum patient effort. The physician has contracted Serinus Health Inc services to help the beneficiaries with these tasks.
Q10: CAN THE PATIENT ACQUIRE ANY OTHER DEVICE DIFFERENT THAN THOSE RECOMMENDED?
Yes. The patient can acquire other devices that takes the same vitals as those selected by the physicians, as long they are FDA approved. However, it is not recommended since different devices may not facilitate the automatic collection and transmission of the vitals.
Q11: CAN OTHER BENEFICIARIES OR PATIENTS LIVING IN THE SAME HOME USE THE SAME DEVICE TO TAKE VITALS?
Yes. The recommended devices have the capability to track the readings of different users. However, the beneficiary would have to ensure the readings to be transmitted are his/her own readings.
Q12: CAN THE PATIENT USE ANY ALREADY EXISTING DEVICE?
Yes, as long as the device is FDA approved for accuracy and reliability. However, an existing device might not be suitable for automated data collection and transmission. In that case, it would be preferably to acquire one of the recommended devices.
Q13: WHAT TO DO IF YOU NEED HELP OR HAVE A QUESTION?
Any questions regarding this new benefit, about the the devices or how to use them should call Serinus Health Inc at 1.561.921.1097 or email help@SerinusHealth.com.
