Free Annual Medicare Wellness Visit Target Preventative Care

Starting this past January, Medicare extended its preventative care to include a yearly wellness exam performed by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional, the cost of which is completely covered by Medicare Part B.

“The government is recognizing that more preventative care is needed for the Medicare population, so providing additional services is a big step forward,” says Cindy Hayes, Director of Physician Services at Elkhart General Hospital. “Wellness visits can help physicians keep patients healthy by using that time to discuss lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking or improving nutrition.”

“Increasing patient frequency of in-office wellness visits should allow physicians to be able to detect and manage chronic conditions at an earlier stage,” Hayes says. The visit includes a one-on-one conversation with the patient, creating an opportunity for the physician to detect a change in physical or mental status. “These fluctuations can be observed and measured on a yearly basis,” she says.

Laura Munkel, M.D., a Board Certified Family Medicine Physician at Family Medicine Center in Goshen, has performed dozens of the Medicare wellness exams since the beginning of this year. “I’m excited because it gets Medicare patients in the door. We can help them work on preventative health measures and try to keep them from becoming sick,” Dr. Munkel says.

Unlike a physical exam, the wellness exam reviews a patient’s medical and family histories and lists in the chart all current medical providers seeing the patient. Height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure are the only physical signs taken.

The wellness exam, which is conducted by a trained healthcare professional under the direct supervision of Dr. Munkel or another practice physician, also includes screenings for vision, cognitive recognition, depression and the ability of the person to live safely at home. “Can the patient do the daily activities of living independently or does she need help?” says Dr. Munkel. “We also look over the preventative schedules – how often the person needs a colonoscopy or a mammogram.”

Furthermore, weight loss or weight gain, physical activity and fall prevention (to ensure the home is safe) are covered during the exam. Medicare patients at Family Medicine Center who seek counseling in a particular area can also be referred to diabetes education or nutrition classes at Elkhart General, for example.

“Very few senior citizens are willing to pay for a physical exam on their own, so a lot of these preventative care measures are simply not done because these patients come into the office only for sickness,” Dr. Munkel said. “Based on the findings, I might suggest that the patients schedule a regular physical exam.” In addition, a person identified with a fall risk who has not been screened for osteoporosis can be scheduled for a bone density test and a check of her vitamin D level.

Because the wellness exam can be performed by a healthcare professional under the physician’s supervision, “patients might be more willing to share things that perhaps a physician might not obtain,” says Dr. Munkel. She hopes that the annual wellness visit is a forerunner to a covered yearly physical exam for Medicare recipients. Meanwhile, the wellness exam “is an effort to help Medicare patients achieve better healthcare and work more with their doctors versus waiting for an acute visit,” she says. “For instance, during a regular physical exam, we rarely talk a lot about fall risk in the home, unless that particular patient has fallen.”

The wellness exam also creates a relaxed environment for patients to ask questions. “Our staff has a listening ear,” Dr. Munkel says. “There are plenty of family physicians in the area who are willing to take senior citizens, especially those who want to better their health.”

For a referral to a family medicine physician, please call the Health Information Center referral line at (888) 344-6773. For a complete Elkhart General Hospital physician directory, visit www.egh.org.

Laura E. Munkel, MD is Board Certified in Family Medicine and earned her medical degree from Rush University Medical College. She completed her family medicine internship and residency at Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center and has been part of the Elkhart General Hospital Medical Staff since 2002.