Medicare now provides coverage for an ‘Annual Wellness Visit” in addition to the one-time “Welcome to Medicare Physical Exam”. This is a recommendation by most insurances that Medicare started. It’s a form of health risk assessment to ensure that you are up to date on your preventive health maintenance as well.
As primary care physicians , we know the cornerstone to your health is prevention. This new benefit is designed to focus on plans for prevention and wellness. We believe this service will be valuable to you and we encourage you to learn about it and participate in the program.
There are specific Medicare guidelines for the new Annual Wellness Visit, and it is not what most people commonly think of as a yearly “physical exam”. It is not a “HANDS ON” exam. Rather, it is a Review of Your Health, plus Education and Counseling about preventive services. This visit is designed to focus on health promotion and prevention planning. Because of this, it is not possible to address new or chronic conditions during this visit, so your may be asked to schedule a separate visit to appropriately address those issues.
At the Annual Wellness Visit we will work with you to a personalized plan to help keep you at our best health over the next few years. To do this, your medical history will be updated, including a list of all your other health care providers. Your blood pressure, height and weight measurements will be taken, and there will be a screening for conditions related to cognitive impairment, depression, fall risk and functional status. To prepare for this, you should bring the following with you.
- A list of your medicines and allergies
- A list of your medical conditions hospitalizations and surgeries
- A list of any of your other. health care providers and pharmacies.
This information will help us guide your health care and provide you advice designed to improve your overall health.
As always, we appreciate the trust you put in us to take care of all of your healthcare needs and hope that you will take advantage of this new benefit.
Sincerely,
Clarissa Rose Abrantes, M.D.
