The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit

The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is an annual preventive health benefit, which was created in 2011 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The visit provides an opportunity for clinicians to review preventive health recommendations and screen for geriatric syndromes. In this article, the authors review the requirements of the Annual Wellness Visit, discuss ways to use the Annual Wellness Visit to improve the care of geriatric patients, and provide suggestions for how to incorporate this benefit into a busy clinic.