Winona Health recognized with National Leader in Prevention and Wellness Award

Winona Health was recognized with a National Leader in Prevention & Wellness Award. The award was the result of Winona Health caregivers exceeding a quality measure and care management goal for performing annual wellness visits for their patients. “Some people only plan to see their healthcare provider when they have a concern about something,” Kelly Fluharty, MPH, care transformation manager at Winona Health. “We encourage and assist our patients in being proactive in taking care of their health, so when someone comes in with a concern, we use that opportunity to not only address their immediate concern, but also do an overall wellness exam so we can learn what we need to know to help them head off or detect other issues early.” Quality measures and care management goals are determined by Signify Health, the facilitator and supporter of Winona Health’s traditional Accountable Care Organization (ACO). The goal of an ACO is to develop and evaluate methods to improve patient outcomes through transitioning to a value-based healthcare model, that is, one that demonstrates lower costs and higher quality, rather than healthcare’s traditional fee-for-service model. Each year, Signify tracks participant performance towards quality measures and care management goals. Caregivers at Winona Health exceeded its target with over 60% of attributed Medicare patients completing an annual wellness visit last year. A study published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine concluded that: Wellness visits are an important time for patients and clinicians to discuss prevention strategies and to deliver recommended clinical preventive services, leading to the identification of previously unrecognized diagnoses. This will improve patients’ health. Policies and incentives that promote wellness visits are important, and efforts are needed to deliver them to those most in need. [source: Understanding the Value of the Wellness Visit: A Descriptive Study ] Those who are covered by Medicare can receive an annual wellness visit each year at no charge. Charges occur when issues outside preventive care are addressed. Winona Health is required to follow rules and regulations for coding and billing. To schedule an appointment with a primary care provider, call 507.454.3650.