Group medicare wellness visits: A pilot exploration of an approach to wellness and preventive medicine for older adults

Abstract

IntroductionThe Medicare annual wellness visit was designed to address health risks and encourage evidence-based preventive care in aging. However, it can be challenging for providers to dedicate time for comprehensive attention to wellness during these visits. Our project implements a group setting for Medicare wellness visits (GMWV) as an efficient method for delivering high value preventive care. MethodsThree hundred patients from two primary care ambulatory clinics in Detroit, MI in need of their annual Medicare visit were invited to participate in the pilot GMWV. Fifty-eight patients agreed and completed their GMWV. The visit included collection of vitals, vision screening, and risk assessment during check-in, followed by educational wellness presentations led by an interdisciplinary team of six healthcare professionals. Patients completed a post visit-satisfaction survey and researchers calculated rates of completion of health maintenance gaps (HMG), i.e. immunizations and cancer screenings, among participants. ResultsThe average age of participants (N female = 48) was 74 years old. Thirty-four participants had more than one HMG at baseline. On average, 8 % of immunization gaps and 12 % of screening gaps were completed at or within one-year post GMWV. Participant feedback reported that 82 % of patients felt that they learned something new from the presentation and 81 % of patients felt satisfied with the amount of time they spent with their physician. DiscussionGMWV is a feasible approach to promoting wellness and healthy aging that patients find satisfying although, additional study is needed to compare the effectiveness of this model to standard care.