Notice: This CMS-approved document has been submitted - Philips ...

CMS-1403-FC
acknowledged that training patients in the
self-administration of injectable drugs, a required
component of DSMT programs, would be difficult to perform
via telehealth. However, the commenter disagreed that this
concern should prevent diabetes patients from accessing the
DSMT benefit through telehealth. The commenter believes
that educating a patient on diet, exercise, medications,
managing stress and illness, and managing blood sugar can
be taught via telehealth.
Another commenter agreed that telehealth should not
serve as a substitute for initial DSMT training that may
involve hands-on teaching of injectable medications or
appropriate usage of glucose monitors. However, the
commenter believes that follow-up telehealth encounters can
help to quickly identify any potential problems or health
concerns.
Response: The request we received was to add
individual and group DSMT as described by HCPCS codes G0108
and G0109 to the list of Medicare telehealth services. As
discussed above, teaching beneficiaries the skills necessary
for the self administration of injectable drugs is a
statutorily required element of DSMT (and is typically
provided as part of an individual DSMT session). This skill
based training is typically not a component of any of the
current Medicare telehealth services.
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