Community Pharmacists Improved Completion of Annual Wellness Visits
Researchers conducted a study to understand how community pharmacist referrals translated to the acceptance and completion of annual wellness visits.
With the help of a community pharmacy referral process, the number of patients that accepted and completed annual wellness visits (AWVs) significantly increased when compared with previous data, according to a study published in JAPhA Practice Innovations.1
“The Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law in 2011, introduced significant reforms to the US health care system, resulting in measurable improvements in areas such as access to care and insurance coverage,” wrote authors of the study. “Notably, the ACA also led to the creation of the Medicare AWV. These visits are available to all Medicare enrollees at no cost to the beneficiary and are intended to reduce health care costs and increase utilization of preventive care services as clinically indicated.”
AWVs were designed as a way for patients to stay on top of their health with the inclusion of health care providers that oversee and help patients manage outcomes on a yearly basis. However, despite the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) strongly encouraging beneficiaries to complete these visits, those instances continue to fall behind in the eyes of the researchers.
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This study highlights the ability for community pharmacists to properly educate patients on the importance of AWVs. | image credit: v_l / stock.adobe.com
Prior to conducting the study, researchers included AWV completion data from 2011 to 2020. Completion rates have indeed increased gradually since the inception of AWVs in 2011, with rates rising from 7.5% to around 45% in 2020. While a steady increase is good and could potentially increase health benefits, previous data reported that up to 68% of all Medicare beneficiaries were not aware AWVs exist.
With a massive potential to increase AWV instances among patients, researchers looked to community pharmacists to see how they could assist in improving acceptance and completion rates.
“Community pharmacies are convenient health care settings with almost 90% of Americans living within 5 miles of a community pharmacy,” they continued.1,2 “Additionally, community pharmacists are the most accessible health care provider as patients will visit their pharmacist 8 times more per year on average compared to a physician or nurse practitioner. Pharmacists are highly trusted health care providers equipped to educate patients on the importance of preventive health care, including AWVs. Leveraging these advantages, a community pharmacist referral process may increase the acceptance and completion rates of AWVs.”
Since AWVs were introduced by the ACA in 2011 and are reserved mainly to Medicare beneficiaries, the study only included participants of at least 66 years of age with Medicare insurance who were actively visiting a pharmacy. As part of the study intervention, community pharmacists were given training materials on AWVs and asked to provide AWV referrals to their patients. The intervention was conducted in 60 pharmacies across 7 states in the US from December 2023 to June 2024.
The community pharmacists were asked to provide education on AWVs, explaining their benefits and why patients should be keeping up with them annually. The researchers then conducted a follow-up intervention for those that accepted AWV referrals.
“Of the 3171 completed interventions, 2745 patients (86.6%) self-reported they completed an AWV in the past 12 months. Pharmacists identified 315 patients eligible for an AWV with 238 accepted referrals. During the follow-up intervention, 146 patients reported completing an AWV, and 24 patients scheduled an appointment, for a completion rate of 54.0%, which was statistically significant compared to national CMS data,” wrote the authors.1
With AWV completion rates already on the rise according to previous data, this study’s findings support the fact that community pharmacists have the ability to further increase these rates to more optimal levels. Community pharmacies continue to be the most accessible health care destinations in the country, with nearly 90% of all Americans living within a 5-mile drive of one.2
As they have shown expertise in managing patients’ drug regimens and facilitating patient-provider relationships, researchers believe that community pharmacists can serve as a catalyst for helping patients understand the importance of AWVs. And with more Americans keeping a closer eye on their personal health than before, community pharmacists have the ability to make a significant impact on population-wide patient outcomes.
“The community pharmacist AWV referral process increased the number of patients who completed an AWV resulting in a higher completion rate compared to national CMS data. Pharmacists were well equipped to complete referrals and real-time patient identification supported completion. Anecdotal evidence suggests there is still an opportunity to improve patients’ understanding of AWVs,” concluded authors of the study.1
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