By the time you start comparing remote patient monitoring companies, the proposals tend to blur together. Every vendor has a clean dashboard, cellular devices, a HIPAA badge on the website, and a slide showing high patient engagement. Every demo ends with a pricing sheet that looks reasonable. And every salesperson has a confident answer for whatever you ask.
The trouble is that a confident answer and a true answer sound the same on a video call. What separates them is whether the vendor can show you the document behind it: the time log export, the device clearance number, the contract clause, the report from a practice like yours.
This guide gives you 10 questions to ask an RPM vendor before you sign, along with the specific proof to request for each answer. It also covers a change that makes this conversation more urgent than it was a year ago. Medicare has proposed limiting who can perform billable RPM monitoring starting in 2027, and that changes which vendor answers are acceptable. You’ll finish with a scoring checklist for comparing two or three vendors side by side, so the decision rests on evidence instead of the best demo.
The Demo That Answered Everything Except What Mattered
A three-physician cardiology practice in Missouri chose its RPM vendor after a polished demo. The dashboard was clean, onboarding was promised in two weeks, and every compliance question got an immediate, confident yes. [VERIFY: replace with real Care VMA client data]
Four months in, a commercial payer requested records for a handful of RPM claims. The practice asked the vendor for the time logs behind those months. Those logs needed to show who made each call, their credentials, and how long each interaction lasted.
The export arrived a week later as a spreadsheet with minutes and dates, but no staff names or credentials. Producing a complete record required a support ticket, a custom report, and another two weeks. When the practice manager reread the contract, she found that report requests outside the standard set were billed separately.
Nothing the vendor said in the demo had been false. “Yes, we track time” was true. “Yes, we support audits” was true. The question nobody asked was “show me the export, right now, with a real patient-month in it.” That question would have changed the decision.
Questions to Ask an RPM Vendor: The Short List
These are the 10 questions to ask any remote patient monitoring company before you sign. For each one, require a document or live demonstration as proof, not a verbal answer. We call that the Show-Me Standard.
- Who performs the clinical monitoring, and whose employees are they?
- If Medicare’s 2027 proposal is finalized, what happens to our program and our contract?
- How do escalations reach our clinicians and our EHR?
- Can we export complete time logs on demand?
- Which devices do you use, and what is their FDA status and accuracy evidence?
- Will you sign a BAA, and how is our patients’ data secured?
- What qualification rates do practices like ours actually achieve?
- What is the full cost per patient per month, every line included?
- What happens to devices, data, and patients if we leave?
- Who do our patients hear from, and when?
Why the Right Questions Changed for 2027
A year ago, the main difference between RPM vendors was how much of the work they took off your hands. That is still a real difference. But a regulatory proposal now on the table could change which of those arrangements produce billable claims, so the questions about staffing have moved from “nice to know” to “decides the contract.”
What CMS Has Proposed
In its proposed Physician Fee Schedule for 2027, CMS put forward several changes to remote monitoring:
- Employed staff only. Billable RPM and RTM monitoring would have to be furnished by clinical staff employed by the billing practitioner or practice, not by third-party contractors. Staff could still work remotely under general supervision. Practices could still buy software, devices, and platforms from vendors.
- Initiating visit. A face-to-face visit, in person or by covered telehealth, would be required before monitoring begins. That visit would include the monitoring plan, the clinical decision that monitoring is appropriate, and documented consent.
- Payment changes. CMS proposed revaluing the codes, and raised the idea of replacing many of today’s RPM and RTM codes with a small set of new codes.
These are proposals, not final rules. If finalized, they would take effect on January 1, 2027. The final rule is expected before the end of this year, and its details could differ from the proposal. Your compliance advisor or health care counsel should confirm the final requirements before you act on them.
What It Means for Your Vendor Conversations
If you are evaluating a vendor whose own staff would do the monitoring and the monthly calls, you need to know today how that arrangement changes if the proposal becomes final. Ask before you sign a multi-year contract. If you are evaluating a technology-only vendor, the proposal matters less to the contract, but it matters a great deal to your own staffing plan. Either way, the first two questions below are no longer optional.
Questions 1-3: Who Does the Work
These three questions come first because their answers decide whether the claims your program produces will hold up, and whether your patients experience the program as part of your practice.
1. Who Performs the Clinical Monitoring, and Whose Employees Are They?
Ask the vendor to describe, by role, who reviews readings, who makes the interactive calls, and who documents treatment management time. Then ask whose payroll each of those people is on.
Proof to request: The staffing section of the contract, plus a written description of each role and its employer.
This answer has always mattered for supervision and patient experience. Under the 2027 proposal, it could decide whether the management time is billable at all.
The proposal still leaves room for outside help with the administrative work around monitoring, the tasks that don’t count as billable treatment management. That includes enrollment paperwork, scheduling initiating visits, device shipping, connectivity troubleshooting, appointment reminders, and month-end report preparation.
That is where our remote patient monitoring support is focused as practices prepare for 2027. Dedicated, HIPAA-compliant Care VMA assistants take the administrative load, so the clinical staff you employ can spend their billable minutes on patients rather than on shipping labels and pairing problems. [VERIFY: confirm Care VMA’s 2027 service scope with Mr. Ali before publishing]
2. If Medicare’s 2027 Proposal Is Finalized, What Happens to Our Program and Our Contract?
A good vendor has already thought about this and can tell you in writing. Look for a clear plan for each scenario: the proposal finalized as written, finalized with changes, or withdrawn. Look also for a contract clause that lets you change scope or exit without penalty if a regulatory change makes part of the service unbillable.
Proof to request: The vendor’s written transition plan and the specific contract language covering regulatory change.
3. How Do Escalations Reach Our Clinicians and Our EHR?
Ask the vendor to walk a red-flag reading from the device all the way to the physician: who sees it first, how fast, through which channel, and where the note lands. Escalations that live only in a vendor portal tend to reach your physicians late. Our five-phase RPM workflow for clinics shows how escalation tiers should be structured.
Proof to request: A live walkthrough of a test escalation, ending with the note visible in your EHR.
Questions 4-6: Compliance and Billing
Answers in this group should come as documents, not adjectives. “Fully compliant” and “audit-ready” are phrases. A sample export, a clearance number, and a signed BAA are evidence.
4. Can We Export Complete Time Logs on Demand?
Every minute that supports a management code needs a date, a duration, a description of the work, and the name and credentials of the person who did it. Ask whether you can pull that yourself, at any time, for any patient-month, without a support ticket or an extra fee. Our 2026 RPM billing guide lists what an audit-ready log should contain.
Proof to request: Export a real (de-identified) patient-month during the demo, while you watch.
5. Which Devices Do You Use, and What Is Their FDA Status and Accuracy Evidence?
For billing, a device must meet the FDA’s definition of a medical device and transmit readings automatically. “FDA registered” describes the manufacturer, not the device. Ask for the clearance number for each device type that requires one, and for blood pressure monitors, ask whether the specific model has been independently validated for clinical accuracy.
Proof to request: A device list with model numbers, clearance numbers, and validation status.
6. Will You Sign a BAA, and How Is Our Patients’ Data Secured?
Any vendor that handles your patients’ health information must sign a business associate agreement. Ask about encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, breach notification timelines, and who on their team can see your patients’ data. Our overview of HIPAA-compliant virtual assistants covers what that protection should look like for any outside team.
Proof to request: Their standard BAA, plus a security summary or third-party audit report.
Questions 7-10: Performance, Price, and Exit
These four questions decide whether the program pays for itself, and whether you can leave if it doesn’t. Vendors tend to answer them with averages and projections. Push for numbers from practices that look like yours, and for contract language you can read.
7. What Qualification Rates Do Practices Like Ours Actually Achieve?
Enrollment numbers mean little. Ask what share of enrolled patients, in practices of your size and specialty, meet the monthly data-day and management-time thresholds in a typical month. That rate drives your revenue more than any other number.
Proof to request: An anonymized monthly report from a comparable client, plus a reference call with that practice.
8. What Is the Full Cost per Patient per Month, Every Line Included?
Ask for one number that includes platform fees, device purchase or lease, cellular service, replacements, shipping, onboarding, support, and any revenue share. Then ask what costs extra: custom reports, additional device types, extra users, early termination.
Proof to request: An itemized pricing sheet, plus the fee schedule from the contract.
9. What Happens to Devices, Data, and Patients if We Leave?
Ask who owns the devices, whether they work with another platform, and how you get your complete data history, including readings, time logs, and notes, in a format your EHR can import. Read the term length, the auto-renewal language, and the termination notice period.
Proof to request: The exit, data portability, and device ownership clauses, plus a sample full-data export.
10. Who Do Our Patients Hear From, and When?
Ask how monitoring staff introduce themselves, what number appears on caller ID, what support hours patients get for device problems, and what patients are told about emergencies. Patients stay in programs they recognize as part of their own practice.
Proof to request: The patient onboarding script and the patient-facing welcome materials.
Red Flags in Vendor Answers
How a vendor answers tells you almost as much as what it says. These patterns show up repeatedly in the vendor conversations we sit in on with practices, and each one is worth a follow-up before you move on.
“Our Platform Handles Compliance Automatically”
Software can track time and count data days. It cannot make your consent documentation, your orders, or your supervision compliant. A vendor who suggests otherwise is describing a feature as a guarantee.
A Verbal Answer to a Documentation Question
When you ask for a time log export, a clearance number, or a contract clause, and the answer is “absolutely, we’ll send that after you sign,” treat it as a “no” until the document arrives.
No Plan for 2027
A service vendor whose staff do your monitoring should have a written position on the 2027 proposal by now. “We’re watching it closely” isn’t a plan.
Revenue Projections Built on Enrolled Patients
If the vendor’s financial projection multiplies enrolled patients by full reimbursement, it assumes every patient qualifies every month. Ask them to rerun it with qualification rates from their real clients.
No References That Look Like You
A vendor that can only connect you with large health systems, or can’t connect you with anyone, has either not served practices like yours or not served them well.
Your RPM Vendor Evaluation Checklist: Score Vendors Side by Side
The questions only help if you compare the answers consistently. Score each vendor on the same scale, against the same proof, ideally with your practice manager and one physician scoring independently and then comparing notes.
The Scoring Table
Score each question 0-2:
- 0: No answer, or a verbal answer only.
- 1: An acceptable answer with partial proof.
- 2: A strong answer with full proof provided.
| # | Question | Proof required | Vendor A | Vendor B | Vendor C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who performs monitoring, whose employees | Staffing clause, role descriptions | |||
| 2 | 2027 contingency | Written plan, regulatory-change clause | |||
| 3 | Escalation path to clinicians and EHR | Live test escalation | |||
| 4 | Time log export | Live de-identified export | |||
| 5 | Device FDA status and accuracy | Device list with clearance and validation | |||
| 6 | BAA and security | Signed BAA template, security report | |||
| 7 | Real qualification rates | Comparable client report, reference call | |||
| 8 | Full cost per patient-month | Itemized pricing, fee schedule | |||
| 9 | Exit terms | Exit and data clauses, sample export | |||
| 10 | Patient experience | Onboarding script, patient materials | |||
| Total (out of 20) |
How to Run the Comparison
Send all 10 questions to each vendor in writing before the second meeting, so the answers come back as documents rather than live improvisation. Weight questions 1, 2, 4, and 9 more heavily if you are signing for more than a year. Those four are the hardest to fix after the contract is in place.
Any vendor that scores 0 on question 1 or question 4 should be removed from consideration, whatever its total.
Choose the Vendor Whose Answers Come With Paper
Most RPM vendors can run a good demo. The one worth choosing can back up every answer with a document you can keep, and has already thought through how its arrangement holds up if Medicare’s 2027 proposal becomes final. Ask the 10 questions in writing, insist on the proof, and score the answers side by side. The right choice usually becomes obvious, and if it doesn’t, keep asking.
If you are weighing RPM proposals right now and want a second opinion, book a free consultation with the Care VMA team. We will go through the vendor answers you have against these 10 questions and flag the gaps before you sign.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are the vendor-selection questions practice managers bring to us most often.
What questions should I ask an RPM vendor?
Ask who performs the clinical monitoring and whose employees they are, how the contract handles Medicare’s proposed 2027 changes, and how escalations reach your clinicians. Then cover time log exports, device FDA status, BAA and security, real qualification rates, full cost per patient, exit terms, and the patient experience. For each one, ask for a document or a live demonstration, not just a verbal answer.
What should an RPM vendor evaluation checklist include?
The same 10 questions for every vendor, the specific proof required for each, and a consistent score. A simple 0-2 scale per question lets you compare vendors side by side. Treat a zero on staffing or time log exports as disqualifying.
Can an RPM vendor’s staff do the monitoring for us?
Under current rules, clinical staff working under general supervision can furnish RPM services. CMS has proposed that, starting in 2027, billable monitoring be limited to clinical staff employed by the billing practice. The proposal is not final. Ask any service vendor for its written plan, and confirm the final requirements with your compliance advisor before signing.
How do I compare RPM vendor pricing?
Convert every proposal into a single all-in cost per patient per month, covering platform, devices, connectivity, replacements, support, and any revenue share. Then compare it against the revenue you can realistically expect, based on qualification rates from comparable practices rather than on total enrollment.
What contract terms matter most when choosing a remote patient monitoring company?
Term length and auto-renewal, termination rights, a clause for regulatory change, device ownership, and full data portability. These terms decide what it costs to fix a bad choice, and they are much easier to negotiate before signing.
