Recruitment strategies for medicare annual wellness visits
FPM Editors
January 25, 2018
To increase the number of patients who receive Medicare annual wellness visits, physicians and staff both have a role to play. Nursing staff can review the daily schedule to identify patients who are eligible and remind physicians to recommend the service or recommend it themselves, using this approach:
- When talking with patients, start by describing the visit, then try to identify what aspect seems to most interest the patient.
- Emphasize that "Your doctor wants you to get this done. It really helps your doctor help you."
- Explain that the visit allows the patient and provider to talk longer than during a typical office visit.
- Give the patient a health risk appraisal to bring back; this gives the patient a sense of what to expect.
- Brainstorm potential solutions to barriers such as transportation, time, and care of other family members.
- Be knowledgeable, caring, and passionate while not overwhelming the patient.
Adapted from "Medicare Annual Wellness Visits: How to Get Patients and Physicians on Board."
Posted on Jan 25, 2018 by FPM Editors