Medicare's Annual Wellness Visit

Healthcare Reform was a hot topic in 2010 and continues to be as we start the new year!  There are many benefits introduced by the reform and one very important one that is set to start January 1^st, 2011 is Medicare’s new Annual Wellness Visit!  You may be asking yourself, “What is an Annual Wellness Visit?”   and  “Is it worth it for me to come in when I’m not sick?”- the answer to the second question is easy- YES!  If you want to know what an Annual Wellness Visit is, read on!

The Annual Wellness Visit  is Medicare’s answer to providing a preventive (or well check) visit with a few extras that research has found helps you live healthier, happier lives. AND IT’S ALL FREE for Medicare patients (if you have a Medicare Advantage plan, verify with your insurance provider that they too will cover your co-pay and deductible for Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visit)!  Prior to enacting this new law and benefit, Medicare did not cover the physical portion of a preventive visit and only covered certain screening tests.  More importantly, it did not give physicians and their patients a chance to sit down and talk about their general health, well-being and what the future may hold.  Now, by scheduling and attending your Annual Wellness Visit when you are not sick, you can get the following along with a wellness visit:

1. Measurement of individual height, weight, Body Mass Index (“BMI”) , blood pressure (“BP”), and other routine measurements as deemed appropriate, based on the beneficiary’s medical/family history;
• Measuring your BMI, blood pressure and other vitals gives us a quick picture of your current health.  We can tell if you are at risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health concerns just by a few simple, but vital, pieces of information.
2. Establishment of individual’s medical, family and social history;
• Knowing your most up to date family, medical and social history helps us determine if there are genetic or other reasons your risks may be greater than the average person.
3. A list of prescription medication;
• By reviewing your current list of medications, we can make sure you are not being prescribed too many medications or medications that have negative interactions with each other.  Our Athenahealth Electronic Health Record program will in most cases have a current list of medications if you have been getting them from a pharmacy and using your insurance.
4.  Establishment of a list of current providers and suppliers that are regularly involved in providing care to the individual;
• Knowing who else you are seeing and for what health issues allows us to better coordinate your care and get in touch with the right physician if we need to.
5. Detection of any cognitive impairment that individual may have (review of risk of depression, mood disorders, Alzheimer’s, etc.);
• A simple questionnaire helps us determine if there might be potential  mental health issues we should plan for while we can. 
6. Review of individual’s functional ability and level of safety;
• This will help us make sure that you are not in any danger of hurting yourself.
7. Establishment of a list of risk factors and conditions for which more intervention is recommended or is under way;
• Knowing and understanding the health risks you may be facing can save you the trouble of unnecessary visits to the hospital or even worse when it is too late.
8.  Personalized health advice and possible referral/follow-up for other covered preventive services such as weight-loss consultation, smoking cessation, diabetes management consultation; cholesterol management consultation, high blood pressure consultation, fall prevention and/or nutrition.
• Medicare realizes the importance of prevention and along with providing for a free Annual Wellness Visit, is also offering free services designed to help prevent, manage and reduce the most common health concerns for patients your age.
9. Establishment of a written screening schedule/checklist for the next 5-10 years as recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force;
• Knowing when to get proper screening is just as important as knowing what types of screening you may need.
10. (Not a part of the Annual Visit as of 1/3/2011 but it is a discussion we recommend you have with your primary care physician during your Annual Wellness Visit)Voluntary advanced care planning if desired (verbal or written information regarding the patients wishes in case an injury or illness  causes the patient to be unable to make health care decisions at that point)
• This is an important but often over-looked aspect of your health and well-being.  Knowing what you would like done, or not done, when it comes to important health decisions is good for your family, your provider and you.  Why wait until you can’t make that decision to have someone else make it for you?

Each year after your initial Annual Wellness Visit, your provider should follow up with you with another wellness visit where your list of medications, providers, risk factors are updated and your current health and well-being are re-evaluated.   If you can make your follow up wellness visit right after your Annual for the same day 12 months later, you won’t have to remember about making it later.  

What does this all mean for you/Why you should make an appointment for your Annual Wellness Visit?

A stitch in time saves nine.  This time honored adage has never been truer when it comes to your health and well-being.  Preventive medicine, that is medicine and services that help you from being sick or help you manage your current conditions so they don’t get worse, is the most important thing you can do to save your life, save your money, help your family,  and even help the overall health care system and the American economy.   For example, if during your Annual Wellness Visit, it is determined that you have or are at risk for Diabetes and then you take advantage of the free Diabetes Management services, you are more likely to control or not even get Diabetes.  Controlling or not even getting Diabetes can save you hundreds of dollars a month just in prescriptions.  We have had patients save over $500 a month by getting their Diabetes under control. If you don’t control your Diabetes and end up in the hospital because you need to be put on dialysis, your bill can be in the thousands.  That can be money in your pocket and money the hospital and government can save. 

Other benefits of getting your annual wellness visit and the yearly follow up are:

·         It’s an opportunity for you and your health care provider to discuss your health during a time when you are not in for a sick visit and therefore are not worried about  a how you’re feeling at the moment;

·         Planning out what visits you might need, based on your health condition and risk factors, in the beginning of the year can help you make sure you have the time to take care of the things you need to take care of;

·         It’s an opportunity have an open and honest discussion with family members (after your visit, you should meet with family members to discuss what you and your health care provider discussed during our annual visit such as your current health, risks, additional screenings that might be necessary, and what you would want done in case of an emergency);

·         IT’S FREE!

So make your appointment today!  You can call our office at 559-450-7299 to make an appointment or make an appointment request through the patient portal (go to www.avecinia.com, then click on “My Account” to access your patient portal).  When making an appointment, make sure you ask that it is for your Annual Wellness Visit (as long as you have not had your Welcome to Medicare Visit in the past 12 months or you are not new to Medicare within the past 12 months).  Your appointment will be for approximately 25-30 minutes (including time to fill out some questionnaires).  Although we have a list of your current medications, providers, family, personal and social history in our Electronic Health Record program, bring a list so we can confirm the information is accurate.  During your visit, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire that will become part of your Personalized Prevention Plane.  If you would like to fill this questionnaire out with the help of someone prior to the visit, just ask us and we can mail, email or fax it to you or you can download a copy from the Patient Portal under “Medical Forms” (the forms will be called Medicare Annual Wellness Visit Forms). 

 

We are excited that Medicare is offering this incredible, valuable opportunity for you without any cost to you! We highly recommend you make your Annual Wellness Visit appointment as soon as possible, or if your family member or loved one is with Medicare, have them make an appointment as soon as possible (or make it for them if you are their care taker).  See you soon!

For daily updates on news, information and more on health care and wellness, join avecinia wellness center's facebook page (facebook.com/avecinia) and follow avecinia on twitter (twitter.com/avecinia4health). avecinia wellness center is Fresno's premier integrative medicine and wellness center. We combine internal medicine and primary care with health management, weight management, acupuncture, aesthetics (Botox, Juvederm, Radiesse, Obagi and more) and massage therapy for a holistic approach to health. We use a robust electronic health record program and patient web portal to enhance our delivery of services and to help our patients reach their optimal well-being. To learn more, visit www.avecinia.com. If you are looking for a primary care doctor in Fresno or the Central Valley and would like to become a part of the avecinia family, visit our website and click on new patient registration. Let Dr. Unaiza Hayat and/or Ali Kunkel, MPA, PA-C, become your trusted guides. Our Aesthetic, Weight Management, Acupuncture, Health Management and Massage Therapy services do not require us to be your primary care physician. Learn more at www.avecinia.com We look forward to meeting you!

Top “Five” Fitness Tips For The Holiday’s!

Annie Malaythong- Health Coach Studio 108

Holiday season is here! With family gatherings and holiday parties filled with baked goods, foods and alcohol it’s hard to stay on track. Let’s face it; we all worry about putting on “winter weight.” But what exactly are we doing about it? It’s time to be realistic. It would be a shame for you not to enjoy your family and friends and all the goods. So, let’s set realistic health and fitness goals to keep you on track! Here’s to a healthy 2010 and to a better 2011!

1. Realistic Fitness Action Plan- Write out a “top 3” daily “Active To-Do” list to keep you feeling accomplished and productive with your fitness. Again, emphasize the “realistic.” If you currently are doing nothing for your fitness here’s an example:
1. Walk for 15 minutes today. (Anywhere)
2.  Stretch for 5 minutes.
3. Perform 3 different exercises that you are confident with.
2. Spice it up! Spicing up your workout can do wonders for your mind and body. Try doing something different. Studio 108 in Fresno offers unique classes such as Thai Budokon, Self-Defense Classes, Mind/Body/Stress-Free Yoga, or (30 minute) Express Cardio Intervals. If you’re not a group exercise person, try a personal trainer or a fitness specialist to mix it up. Mixing up your workouts and spicing it up will keep you motivated throughout the holidays and keep your body guessing. This will result in a longer fat burn
3. Easy on the Alcohol -Alcohol consumption packs on additional calories. Think of every 8oz alcoholic drink as roughly 30 minutes of additional cardio.
4. Understand your Calories IN vs. Calories OUT- Check out your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). The number of calories you’d burn if you stayed in bed all day. That number represents how many calories you need to consume just to maintain life without working out or being active. If your calorie intake is more than calories being burned, you are more than likely progressively gaining weight. Staying active is the key!
5. “Cheating” moderately- We all know sugar, sugar and sugar is the main ingredient for the holidays. If you can’t stay away or are tempted, try keeping your sugar intake to a minimum. A great trick is to fill up your sweets in the palm of your hand and limit choices to one “sweet palm” for the whole day. Example:

• “I have choices of apple pie, cookies, toffee, pumpkin pie, etc...”
• “I can only fit 2 pieces of toffee, and ½ of a pumpkin pie in the palm of my hand. I will limit my sweets to only these two options for the WHOLE day.
• “I will not attempt to stack, mash, crumble, combine or overflow my palm. For every additional serving of a “sweet palm” is another 1,000 calories which is roughly two hours of cardio for an average 150lb person. Or for every three “sweet palms” is one extra pound of pure body fat. “ * Eating balance meals focusing on macronutrients will avoid cravings and keep you feeling full longer.*

Moderation, balance and keeping active are key to a healthy you. Setting realistic goals, using some or all of the steps above, is a great way to start and stay on your fitness and well-being plan.  Share it with your family and friends so you don't have to do it alone!  Happy holidays and Happy New Year!

This blog was written by Annie Malaythong, Health Coach, Fitness Studio 108.  Annie is owns Fitness Studio 108 and was previously the Director of Fitness at Gold's Gym (Central Fresno).  Annie is a spokesperson and Nutrition Specialist for "Run For The Dream" Project Child Obesity Campaign, has been on KMPH 26 and KSEE 24 and can be seen beginning December 29th on MTV's "I Used To Be Fat".   avecinia wellness center works with Fitness Studio 108 to help our patients achieve their optimal well-being.  Our individual weight loss and management program incorporates fitness and nutrition provided by experts at Fitness Studio 108.  To learn more about avecinia wellness center and Fitness Studio 108's weight loss/management program, visit www.avecinia.com

avecinia wellness center is Fresno's premier integrative medical and wellness center. We combine primary care with health management, weight management, acupuncture, massage therapy and aesthetics to provide a holistic approach to your health and well-being.  We use a state of the art electronic health record program and patient portal (by athenahealth) to help deliver our unique services to our patients. Learn more by visiting our website at www.avecinia.com or "like" us at www.facebook.com/avecinia or follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/avecinia4health