I’m hearing this question from independent physicians across the country: “We’re already doing RPM and CCM. What does ACCESS actually add?” Here’s the short answer: ACCESS doesn’t replace your existing remote monitoring and chronic care management programs. It enhances them by tying your efforts to long-term outcomes and population health performance.
Understanding the Difference
RPM and CCM are encounter-based. You bill for time spent managing patients, collecting physiologic data, and coordinating care—typically in 20-30 minute increments with specific device-use requirements. ACCESS takes a different view. It’s a longitudinal model focused on patient cohorts—heart failure, diabetes, hypertension—where payment aligns with measurable outcomes: readmission rates, blood pressure control, functional status. Instead of “one month, one patient, one code,” you’re looking at “one panel, one pathway, one playbook.”
How They Work Together
Think of RPM and CCM as the engine. ACCESS is the vehicle. You’ll continue using familiar codes for device supply, data review, and care management. ACCESS wraps around this activity with outcome-based payments that reward the aggregate impact across your high-risk population.
For independent, DPC, and concierge practices, this creates a powerful advantage. You already operate relationship-centered, high-access models. RPM and CCM make that work reimbursable when you extend care into patients’ homes. ACCESS provides the long-term revenue stability to sustain and scale these programs.
The Technology Imperative
Your platform needs to work in both languages simultaneously—tracking device days and clinical time for FFS billing while organizing patients into cohorts and monitoring outcomes for ACCESS reporting. When these layers integrate seamlessly, you’re not managing multiple programs. You’re leveraging the same clinical work across complementary revenue streams.
This is where independent practices have a distinct edge: agility, deep patient relationships, and the right technology partner can transform RPM, CCM, and ACCESS into one unified chronic care strategy.
What questions are you hearing from your colleagues about these models? Drop them in the comments.
