Annual wellness visits are associated with increased use of preventive services in patients with diabetes living in the Diabetes Belt.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine whether Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs) were associated with increased use of preventive services in Medicare patients with diabetes living in the Diabetes Belt.

Methods

We used a case-control design where outcomes were utilization of preventive services recommended for patients with diabetes (foot exam, eye exam, A1c test, and microalbuminuria test) and the exposure was AWVs using data for Medicare patients with diabetes in 2014 - 2015 residing in the Diabetes Belt (N = 412,009).

Results

Only 13.4% of patients in 2014 and 17.4% in 2015 used AWVs. Eye exams (61% vs 53%), foot exams (93% vs 79%), A1c tests (81% vs 71%), and microalbuminuria tests (45% vs 28%) were more common among patients who had an AWV in the preceding year compared with those who

SUBMITTER: McMurry TL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9387346 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul-Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature