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Empowering the healthcare team and patients with actionable recommendations was another strategy identified to be especially helpful in moving the needle on screening rates. Ensuring laboratory representation from the beginning of the project was especially helpful in overcoming challenges related to laboratory test ordering and reporting. Moving forward, the presenters note that the project timeline may need to be adjusted to build in enough time to identify clinic champions and develop buy-in with clinic staff.

Throughout the project, NKFM and MCRH met monthly with all the pilot sites together, as well as separately. This allowed them the opportunity to collaborate on shared successes and barriers while also offering an opportunity to cater education and guidance of interventions to each site’s needs. While each pilot site ended the project with different next steps, all will continue to receive support from NKFM and MCRH as they progress on their journeys to diligently increase CKD screening, diagnosis, and referrals to lifestyle management programs.

Using the remaining funds from this grant, NKFM and MCRH built on their successes by developing a CKD toolkit for rural providers. The toolkit allows them to broaden the reach of the CKD Learning Collaborative’s impact to more clinics across Michigan. While the toolkit does cater to a rural health clinic audience, any clinic interested in learning more about enhancing CKD care can access the suite of provider and patient education resources, workflows, and screening tools on MCRH’s website.

March Post-Discharge Follow-Up Workgroup: Oaklawn Hospital

This month, MVC’s post-discharge follow-up workgroup featured a presentation by Morgan Albright, Director of Case/ Care Management and Population Health at Oaklawn Hospital and Zach Chapman, Executive Director of Oaklawn Medical Group. Their co-presentation centered on Oaklawn Hospital and Oaklawn Medical Group’s collaboration to integrate Medicare Annual Wellness Visits (MAWVs) into their population health program.

MAWVs focus on preventive care and health maintenance and include a health risk assessment, review of medical history, and development of a personalized prevention plan (Figure 2). Unlike a preventive physical exam (IPPE) or routine physical exam, MAWVs do not include a comprehensive physical exam. Albright explained that while MAWVs are a standard benefit for Medicare beneficiaries, these visits were infrequently completed due to the limited time available during a PCP visit. Additionally, since these visits are hands off assessments and previously stand-alone appointments, patient satisfaction following these visits was generally low.

Figure 2. Comparison of Medicare Physical Exam Coverage

In January of 2023, three population health nurses were integrated across Oaklawn’s outpatient offices with the goal of conducting dual and/or phone-prep MAWV appointments. Combining an MAWV with another regularly scheduled visit has helped to alleviate the barriers that existed for the Medicare patient population. Benefits of completing the MAWV include increased care planning, depression screening, and patient satisfaction.

An additional benefit to the integration of the population health nurses and MAWVs has been in the improvement of billing and revenue. Albright explained that while an initial MAWV does not necessarily generate revenue, any subsequent MAWVs, such as those focused on depression screening or social determinants of health (SDoH) concerns, are billable. Champman notes that in 2022, only 66 depression screenings were billed, compared to close to 4,000 in 2024. Similarly, billing for advanced care planning has increased from 94 cases in 2022 to 1,100 in 2024. Chapman estimates the return on investment is about 150% of the cost of a dedicated population health RN. He also noted the impact the introduction of population health support staff has had on reducing the primary care physician’s workload.

In addition to the MAWV assessments, Albright and Chapman note Oaklawn has initiated a chronic care management program. This program is a collaborative effort between Oaklawn’s care managers and a third-party chronic care management vendor. These check-ins take place between regularly scheduled appointments to ensure patients have the resources (access to medications, transportation, etc.) to be successful in management of their chronic conditions. The depth and breadth of the resources available between these two groups allows them to reach out to over 800 patients monthly. Identified downstream effects of this program have been reduced emergency department (ED) utilization and reduced length of stays (LOS).

Paired together, the addition of MAWVs and the chronic care management program have robustly increased Oaklawn Hospital and Medical Group’s ability to reach their aging Medicare patients. Overall, roughly 50% of Oaklawn’s eligible population completed MAWVs in 2024, compared to just 11% in 2021. This translates to about 1,800 wellness visits in 2021 versus 5,500 in 2024. Oaklawn’s next steps include intentionally working to engage with the remaining 50% of eligible Medicare patients to ensure they do not miss out on valuable healthcare resources.

To learn more about Medicare Wellness Visits including coding and billing requirements, visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services education website.