Date Approved
4-21-2022
Graduate Degree Type
Project
Degree Name
Nursing (D.N.P.)
Degree Program
Health Professions
First Advisor
Dr. Della Hughes-Carter, DNP, RN, BC-GNP
Second Advisor
Dr. Rebecca Davis, PhD, RN
Academic Year
2021/2022
Abstract
Background: Medicare Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs) promote preventive services. Completion rates remain low among rural, underserved populations. A Midwest Rural Health Clinic (RHC) was not achieving its AWV completion goal due to inconsistent processes and scheduling challenges.
Objectives: To establish a workflow to increase AWV completion rates, thereby increasing depression screening and improving time efficiency using a team approach.
Methods: The quality improvement project was implemented using the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework at an RHC serving 942 Medicare beneficiaries. Participants included clinical staff and 170 beneficiaries. A workflow was developed to engage multidisciplinary team members in promoting, scheduling, and completing AWVs. A cost-benefit analysis was completed to examine the impact of redeploying existing staff to participate in AWV completion. The project measures included: the total number of Medicare AWVs completed and the impact of a team approach on the time required by the PA for visit completion.
Results: An independent samples t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were run using SPSS version 27 to determine the difference in AWV completion rates and pre and post-intervention visit duration. There was an increase in the number of AWVs completed (n=170), significant cost savings and increased revenue, and a statistically significant reduction in time required by the PA for AWV completion (pre-intervention: median=70.5; post-intervention: median=28.5; n=34, U=12.00, Z=-5.059, p-value=<.001).
Conclusion: Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach increased AWV completion rates, thereby improving depression screening, improving time efficiency, and generating increased revenue for the RHC
ScholarWorks Citation
Bunting, Marstie, "Improving Annual Wellness Visit Completion Rates with a Team Approach" (2022). Culminating Experience Projects. 133.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gradprojects/133
