The Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) is a yearly preventive visit with a primary care provider to create or update a personalized health and wellness plan. It is a fully covered benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. This service may help prevent illnesses based on a patient's current health conditions and other risk factors. 

Findings suggest that AWVs decrease ER and hospital admissions, especially in high-cost beneficiaries. Implementing AWVs will allow practices to establish baseline patient data, attain quality metrics and demonstrate their ability to successfully manage complex populations.
 
With a robust AWV strategy and completion rate, patients become more involved in their health and care plans, which boosts their engagement. As health care shifts to value-based care delivery, AWV becomes an essential tool for practices to provide quality health care, increase preventive care and improve patient engagement, satisfaction and outcomes.