Cardiac remote monitoring can be utilized for patients who have pacemakers, defibrillators, or implantable loop recorders. This allows the saved data from your cardiac device to be checked from your home. At the time of your device implant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, you will receive a home bedside monitor by the company that manufactures your device. In some cases, the implanted device will be compatible with a remote monitoring application downloaded to your iPhone or Android smartphone and replace the beside monitor.
The standard of care for implantable device patients includes home monitoring. You will be automatically enrolled in our device monitoring program. Please connect the monitor, or make sure the phone application is operational, and send an initial transmission as soon as this is set up. If you are having issues sending a transmission or think there is a problem with your home monitoring system, please call the manufacturing company directly for assistance.
- Medtronic-Carelink: 1-800-929-4043
- Boston Scientific-Latitude: 1-800-227-3422
- St. Jude - Merlin: 1-877-696-3754
- Biotronik: 1-800-889-9066
Please leave the bedside monitor on and plugged in within 10 feet of where you routinely sleep. You do not need to bring the monitor while on vacation unless you are planning to be away for more than 2 weeks. The device clinic does not receive daily transmissions on every patient. The remote monitor can either send the data automatically or require a manual download. We will inform you of your type of monitor at the time of setting it up.
Many remote monitor transmitters communicate with the device in your body and perform a “self-check” each night between 12AM-3AM. An alert is sent to the device clinic if specific criteria are observed. Depending on the nature of the alert, you may receive a call from our device team. The alerts are checked routinely during normal business hours.
Remote monitoring does not replace the need to call your doctor with any new or concerning symptoms. If you feel unwell, please call the office at 857-307-4000 or 911 depending on the severity of your symptoms.
A transmission schedule will be arranged by our device team based on your individual needs. You will be informed of the dates and times of scheduled transmissions. You will have the opportunity to have both in-person and telemedicine visits for follow up of your device. Remote monitoring does not replace the need for periodic in-person clinic visits. Not all aspects of the device can be checked via remote monitoring. In addition, programming changes can only be made at in-person visits.
If you choose not to participate in remote monitoring, we will have you sign a consent form at your first clinic visit explaining the risks in declining. You may choose to re-enroll at any time. If you decide to disconnect the monitor or discontinue home monitoring for any reason, please first notify the device clinic by calling 857-307-4000.
Billing
Insurance companies typically cover the costs of remote monitoring. However, some private insurance companies may have a high deductible. If needed, we can adjust your monitoring schedule to avoid high costs. Please call your insurance company to determine your out-of-pocket costs. Here are the codes they may ask for:
- CPT_93296 for pacemakers and defibrillators
- CPT_G2066 for loop recorders
