Adult Wellness Visits
A wellness visit is a preventive care visit to your Primary Care Provider (PCP) and is an important way to stay healthy. Wellness visit is also called annual physical as it is done once a year by PCP. Wellness visit includes comprehensive annual physical exam and screening test for cancer, heart disease, depression and other tests based on age, gender and risk factors. We may also recommend additional tests based on your risk factor profile or any abnormal physical exam finding.
Types of Adult Wellness Visits
- Men's Wellness Visit (Annual Physical)
- Women's Wellness Visit (Annual Physical)
- Medicare Wellness Visit
In a routine annual physical, we perform a complete physical exam from head to toe with testicular exam to screen for testicular cancer in men. We also perform rectal exam and prostate exam in certain age group men. We review comprehensive health history, past health problems, family health, social and life style history. We also review your immunization history and order vaccines to protect you from vaccine preventable diseases. We recommend you to bring all your medications and supplement bottles with you in your visit. We review and update the list of your medications. We also discuss colon cancer screening options with you based on your age and risk factors. A simple stool test to check for your occult blood may screen for colon cancer which is done once a year. Or you might need a colonoscopy, which is a direct visualization of your colon with light and camera to detect polyps and cancer. We perform depression screening and alcoholic misuse screening. We also provide education and counseling to help you make informed health decisions. We set health goals for you like weight management, smoking cessation, blood pressure control, lowering of cholesterol and heart disease risk. We may order the following screening and diagnostic tests based on your risk profile, epidemiology and abnormal findings of physical exam.
- Screening for Anemia
- Screening for nutritional deficiencies like iron, B12, vitamin D.
- Screening for Liver, Kidney diseases
- Screening for Diabetes and High Cholesterol
- Screening for Thyroid problems
- EKG (Electrocardiogram) test
- Spirometry (Breathing Capacity) test
- HIV and Hepatitis C screening
- Gonorrhea/Chlamydia screening
- Hearing and Vision screening
Medicare Wellness Visits
As a wellness visit is a preventive model of care, a medicare wellness is also a preventive care provided by a PCP to a medicare patient. Unlike other wellness visits, a routine physical exam is not a part of the medicare wellness visit.
Common Elements of Medical Wellness Visits:
- Health risk assessment: Questionnaire filled by patient or their caregiver
- Reconcile a list of all providers and suppliers for the patient.
- Reconcile medical, surgical, family history, allergies and medication list.
- Depression screening and alcohol misuse screening.
- Renew functional ability and safety;
- Ability to perform ADL
- *Risk of falls
- Hearing and vision test
- Home safety.
- Assessment of Height, weight, BMI, BP
- Detect cognitive impairment
- Provide a medicare screening schedule for age and sex appropriate preventive screening.
- Mammogram
- Pap Test
- Colonoscopy
- Bone density
- Flu Vaccine
- Pneumococcal
- PSA test
9. Establish a list of risk factors like-obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression.
10. Provide health advice counseling and referrals for nicotine, alcohol abuse, weight loss, fall prevention and physical therapy.
11. Discuss about advance directive and complete forms if necessary.
12. Lab work and other medically necessary tests may be ordered. These test may not be covered by wellness visits and may have deductible or copay.
