healthcare

How Healthcare Providers Can Encourage Annual Wellness Visits

December 1, 2021 by · Leave a Comment 

Are you aware of the benefits annual wellness visits have on your overall well-being? Some patients would rather save time and money by skipping general checkups, but there is one big reason why getting a checkup every year is well worth the effort.

Annual wellness checkups can significantly reduce your chances of visiting the hospital again in less ideal circumstances. According to one study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, patients had a 30% reduction in length of hospital visits and a 45% reduction in hospital readmission after having a checkup in the previous 12 months.

David Duel is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who is passionate about making a positive impact on his local California community and elsewhere. Recently, he has made headway as founder and CEO of EasyHealth, a 400-person Medicare platform that integrates healthcare and insurance services.

Concerning annual wellness visits, he observed, “Annual wellness visits are so valuable for improving health outcomes, but coming in for a checkup doesn’t even cross many patients’ minds. At this point, the healthcare provider has to be proactive in motivating patients to prioritize their health.”

David Duel also added, “If you have to email, text, or call patients to remind them about checkups, so be it. You can also include reminders with engaging content such as newsletters.”

Often, the biggest obstacle to patients scheduling checkups is their perceived inconvenience. Healthcare providers should also make getting checkups easier.

“Make sure your staff is ready to assist patients with anything they need during checkups. Also, make sure to get referrals from other providers so their patients can get their checkups closer to their place of residence,” David Duel advised.

For more info on EasyHealth and David Duel, see : Medicare startup EasyHealth gets $135M in series A to fill information gaps