Annual Wellness Visits: Pharmacists Closing Care Gaps

Authors:
Brenna Gelen, PharmD
Nicole Slater, PharmD, BCACP

Reviewers:
Daniel Riche, PharmD, BCACP, BCPS
Joseph Nardollilo, PharmD, BCACP

Citation:
Moffatt E, Wargo R, JohnsonC, Kawaguchi-Suzuki M. Comparative performance of annual wellness visits between pharmacists and physicians at primary care clinics. J Am Coll Clin Pharm 2021; 4: 1524-33.

The Problem

Many older adults do not receive recommended screening exams or treatments and frequently take multiple medications that place them at high risk of adverse effects and drug-drug interactions. Annual Wellness Visits (AWV) are an essential tool to 1) identify risk factors for disease, drug-related problems, and abnormal lab values, 2) create a personalized prevention plan for each individual, and 3) close care gaps, those discrepancies between the care provided to patients and the recommended best practices. Pharmacists performing AWVs creates an opportunity for a comprehensive medication review to identify and correct medication-related problems. Under Medicare, an AWV is covered annually so long as the patient is signed up for Medicare Part B and referred by a Medicare-approved provider. Any provider, including pharmacists, can perform the AWV. Unfortunately, pharmacists are often overlooked for several reasons, including provider unawareness of a pharmacist’s ability to conduct AWVs.