An Introduction to Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visit (AWV)

The Affordable Care Act added coverage of an annual wellness visit and eliminated coinsurance and the Part B deductible for certain recommended preventive services covered by Medicare, including many cancer screenings and other important benefits. By making certain preventive services available with no cost sharing, the Affordable Care Act removes barriers to prevention, helping Americans take charge of their own health and helping individuals and their providers better prevent illness, detect problems early when treatment works best, and monitor health conditions. Learn more about compliance requirements for the annual wellness visit.

Target Audience

Bethesda Health Quality Alliance Physicians. 

Learning Objectives

  • Implement Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visit program, from Initial Preventive Physical Examination (IPPE) and Initial Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) to Subsequent AWV.
  • Utilize AWV documentation tools to help capture all required components.
  • Recognize how an AWV can be used as a means to identify quality improvement opportunities and capture quality metrics.
  • Identify other preventive services consistent with the IPPE or AWV for eligible patients, and properly report quality of care measures via claims.
Additional information
Bibliography: 
  • Galvin, S. L., Grandy, R., Woodall, T., Parlier, A. B., Thach, S., & Landis, S. E. (2017). Improved Utilization of Preventive Services Among Patients Following Team-Based Annual Wellness Visits. North Carolina medical journal, 78(5), 287-295.
  • Ganguli I, Souza J, McWilliams JM, Mehrotra A. Trends in Use of the US Medicare Annual Wellness Visit, 2011-2014. JAMA. 2017;317(21):2233–2235. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.4342
  • Adler, K. G. (2017). What Is the Best Approach to Annual Wellness Visits for Seniors?. Family practice management, 24(2), 3-3.
Course Summary
Available credit: 
  • 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 0.75 General certificate of attendance
Course opens: 
03/01/2018
Course expires: 
02/28/2021

Ronda Tews, CPC, CHC, CCS-P, AAPC Fellow
Acevedo Consulting Incorporated

Due to the non-clinical nature of the content discussed, the speakers have no relevant financial relationships to disclose. This CME activity will not cover content that would involve products or services of commercial interests. Therefore, no opportunity exists for a conflict of interest based on the financial relationships of faculty and those persons in control of content. Since these relationships are not relevant, no disclosure information was collected. 

Disclosure Policy and Disclaimer 

Baptist Health South Florida is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Baptist Health has been re-surveyed by the ACCME and awarded Commendation for 6 years as a provider of CME for physicians.
              
Baptist Health South Florida designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Available Credit

  • 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 0.75 General certificate of attendance
Please login or register for a Baptist Health CME account to take this course.

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