Medicare annual wellness visit remains underused

TORONTO – The annual Medicare wellness visit offers patients and their doctors the chance to review a variety of health concerns, and includes a cognitive health checkup. It’s free for patients and fully reimbursable for physicians. But the visit is far underused, averaging about 14% uptake each year across the United States, according to Pamela Mink, PhD.

Dr. Mink and her colleagues at Minneapolis, Minn.–based Allina Health examined which patients used the visit during 2011-2015 in the Allina Health system. They found annual increases in usage, but by the end of the 5-year period it had been used at least once by only 44% of eligible patients despite some considerable outreach efforts. Those who did were most often white or Asian women who lived in urban areas and were younger than 74 years.

“There’s a real opportunity for tracking and identifying cognitive health issues early here, and it’s being missed,” Dr. Mink said during a press briefing at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2016. “Improving this situation is going to require leadership from health systems, the clinicians administering the visit, and the patients themselves. It’s basic education: Clinicians need to know it’s reimbursable. Patients need to know it’s free, and that it’s a valuable opportunity to address health issues – including any cognitive impairment that may be developing – early.”

Dr. Mink is employed by Allina Health as a senior scientist.

[email protected]

On Twitter @alz_gal

TORONTO – The annual Medicare wellness visit offers patients and their doctors the chance to review a variety of health concerns, and includes a cognitive health checkup. It’s free for patients and fully reimbursable for physicians. But the visit is far underused, averaging about 14% uptake each year across the United States, according to Pamela Mink, PhD.

Dr. Mink and her colleagues at Minneapolis, Minn.–based Allina Health examined which patients used the visit during 2011-2015 in the Allina Health system. They found annual increases in usage, but by the end of the 5-year period it had been used at least once by only 44% of eligible patients despite some considerable outreach efforts. Those who did were most often white or Asian women who lived in urban areas and were younger than 74 years.

“There’s a real opportunity for tracking and identifying cognitive health issues early here, and it’s being missed,” Dr. Mink said during a press briefing at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2016. “Improving this situation is going to require leadership from health systems, the clinicians administering the visit, and the patients themselves. It’s basic education: Clinicians need to know it’s reimbursable. Patients need to know it’s free, and that it’s a valuable opportunity to address health issues – including any cognitive impairment that may be developing – early.”

Dr. Mink is employed by Allina Health as a senior scientist.

[email protected]

On Twitter @alz_gal

TORONTO – The annual Medicare wellness visit offers patients and their doctors the chance to review a variety of health concerns, and includes a cognitive health checkup. It’s free for patients and fully reimbursable for physicians. But the visit is far underused, averaging about 14% uptake each year across the United States, according to Pamela Mink, PhD.

Dr. Mink and her colleagues at Minneapolis, Minn.–based Allina Health examined which patients used the visit during 2011-2015 in the Allina Health system. They found annual increases in usage, but by the end of the 5-year period it had been used at least once by only 44% of eligible patients despite some considerable outreach efforts. Those who did were most often white or Asian women who lived in urban areas and were younger than 74 years.

“There’s a real opportunity for tracking and identifying cognitive health issues early here, and it’s being missed,” Dr. Mink said during a press briefing at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2016. “Improving this situation is going to require leadership from health systems, the clinicians administering the visit, and the patients themselves. It’s basic education: Clinicians need to know it’s reimbursable. Patients need to know it’s free, and that it’s a valuable opportunity to address health issues – including any cognitive impairment that may be developing – early.”

Dr. Mink is employed by Allina Health as a senior scientist.

[email protected]

On Twitter @alz_gal