Utilization pattern of other preventive services during the US Medicare annual wellness visit

Abstract

Annual wellness visit (AWV) was introduced for Medicare patients in 2011 to help patients stay healthy. The object of this study is to assess whether AWV have an impact on the use of other preventive services in the eligible population. Medicare claims for the full sample of beneficiaries who were continuously enrolled in fee-for-service Medicare in 2013 and 2014 were analyzed. The association between AWV and three other preventive services (depression screening [DPS], influenza virus vaccine [IVV], and sexually transmitted infection screening [STI]) were assessed. In addition, the utilization pattern of these three preventative services at AWV visit by the calendar month when beneficiaries had an AWV service was also assessed. Of 28 million eligible Medicare beneficiaries, 16.0% had AWV in 2014. The patients who had AWV had a significantly higher percentage of three preventive services than those who had no AWV: 63.8% vs. 41.6% in IVV, 4.9% vs. 0.5% in DPS, and 2.3% vs. 1.8% in STI. The percentages of beneficiaries who received IVV during an AWV visit varied significantly by calendar month: from <0.1% in June to 36.8% in October. AWV is associated with increased use of other preventive services. In addition, the association is significantly affected by type of other preventive services that may be highly related with seasonal factors.